Miss Paul George’s return to face the Indiana Pacers? We’ve got you covered as we gather the best of Twitter from the night.
Indiana Pacers fans had one question when the 2017-18 NBA schedule was released.
When does Paul George return to the Fieldhouse?
Tonight was the night the former Pacers star played his first game in Indianapolis as a visitor. His Oklahoma City team came into the game struggling to find the right offensive rhythm and chemistry.
Meanwhile, the Pacers came in as the most surprising team in the league. They were five games above .500 on the strength of great team chemistry and Victor Oladipo, the main piece of the PG trade, having an all-star caliber season.
Pacers fans have been ready for this game for months.
Here’s how the fans & media reacted to the game on Twitter as it happened:
PREGAME
This tweet from the night of the Paul George trade was liked by Kevin Pritchard on Monday. All petty has broken loose on Pacers twitter since.
Our colleagues at the Miller Time Podcast put up this tweet… let’s see some of the responses…
Yeah… that would be just about right.
That would probably eat at him more than missing the last shot honestly.
We approve this level of petty.
Don’t make us all suffer…
It is probably safe to assume the Pacers knew about this weeks ago, but waited until today to reveal it. I wonder why… hmmmm.
Augmenting jerseys… check.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/941079594681163777
Signs that troll… check.
The math checks out here…
Here’s how PG was received during pre-game intros…
Yep… some good ol’ hate.
1ST QUARTER
Every time George touches the ball, the boos reign down.
Picked him clean too.
They keep hitting threes at a high rate, one of the most amazing trends of their season thus far.
Old habits die hard.
He’s not aggressive at all, much to Pacers fans’ delight.
That boy cold as ice!
A good quarter for the blue & gold…
2ND QUARTER
The OKC bench is terrorizing the Pacers at the rim. Back-to-back alley oops in transition cap a 9-0 Thunder run.
But the Pacers answer with a 9-0 run of their own to take back the lead.
The booing did indeed return.
He looks a mess. Four turnovers and two points.
Pacers have no answers for Adams and his physicality. His presence has helped OKC take the lead late in the half.
Basketball state, huh?
Pacers not playing at the fast pace they would like to. The Thunder have slowed it down and Adams has had his way in the paint. OKC defense is as good as advertised.
3RD QUARTER
Bojan BeBallinvic.
This was totally on the marquee outside of the Fieldhouse.
A sight for sore eyes… Myles finishing with force.
PG still struggling on offense, but he has made Oladipo look pedestrian. He still gets through screens so effortlessly.
Stephen Adams is winning this game for OKC right now.
After Indiana started the quarter running and getting buckets, the offense returned to being ragged as OKC slowed the pace back down.
4TH QUARTER
*sends the bat signal over the Salesforce Tower*
A couple of corner threes from Patterson gives OKC an eight-point lead.
Thunder take a double-digit lead midway through the quarter. Looking bleak for the guys in gold.
Back-to-back Oladipo buckets followed by a Bojan three-pointer cuts the deficit to six with three minutes left. Crowd back into it.
Thad and Melo get into it. Technical fouls called on both in addition to a personal foul on Thad. Melo goes 1-for-2 from the line.
He’s the MVP for a reason.
Back-to-back buckets from Vic cuts the deficit to two.
After a stop, Pacers push the ball in transition but Thad is called for a charge…
The refs go to replay and change the call from a charge to a block. A massive turn of events. Pacers have a chance to tie with two shots at the line.
But Thad misses the second free throw, the deficit is one.
Pacers get bullied on the boards again as the Thunder get two more offensive rebounds and a bucket to take a three-point lead.
A horrific inbounds play results in a turnover and guess who stole the ball and hit the free throws to ice it…
Yep… that guy.
Pacers fall in Paul George’s return to Indy.
For a team that’s played aesthetically pleasing & tremendously entertaining basketball all season, tonight’s game was a slog. Credit OKC’s 2nd ranked defense for making nearly every Pacers possession a challenge. Stephen Adams was a man all night. Indiana had no answers for his physicality.
Next: Indy mayor shouts out Victor Oladipo
Pacers fans got it out of their system (hopefully?) and can now move on with the rest of this otherwise enjoyable season.