The Indiana Pacers played in 3 of the 4 quarters. Unfortunately, they were horrible in the other 1 and blew it in OKC.
If you combine just the 1st, 2nd, and 4th quarters of tonight’s basketball game, the Indiana Pacers scored 84 points and conceded 76. That’s great!
In the 3rd quarter, the Thunder dominated and outscored Indy 31-15. Ballgame.
That disastrous 3rd quarter was highlighted by a 24-0 Thunder run. Twenty Four to Zero. That’s the longest run in the NBA this season.
The Pacers missed 14 shots in a row during this run. Meanwhile, the Thunder made 9/15, including 4/6 from deep. Everything went right for one team and wrong for the other. It was the difference in the result.
The @okcthunder had a 24-0 run against the Pacers in the 3rd quarter.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 28, 2019
It's the most consecutive unanswered points scored by a team this season and the biggest run for the Thunder since Dec. 23, 2015 against the Lakers (25-0).
h/t @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/ozUqNbfAbN
So, let’s talk about the guards. Darren Collison, Cory Joseph, Wesley Matthews, and Tyreke Evans were a combined…
10/38. 26.4%. Most frontcourt players were up to the task of winning this game. The backcourt was not. They couldn’t hit a thing and it cost the team.
Turd quarters
The Pacers have a net rating of -21.5 in third quarters in the month of March, the worst in the NBA by over 4 points per 100 possessions.
Their effective field goal percentage in these quarters is 47.3%, the worst in the league in that span. Shots need to go in. Things are bad.
Free throw woes
The Pacers were 6/11 from the free throw line.
54.5% is bad. It has to be better than that if you want to win a basketball game, especially on the road. But only 11 attempts is also not going to cut it. They had this problem earlier in the season, but they were able to beat the Thunder the first time thanks to 32 attempts. They couldn’t get it done in that way in this game.
That’s a wrap on the West
That was the Pacers final game against the Western Conference. They finished 15-15 against the group of teams that is largely considered to be better. That’s not great and not bad. It’s fine.
Next year, with Oladipo back, it will be better.
Player grades:
The Pacers play a massively important game on Friday against the Boston Celtics in Boston. It could have massive implications on the final standings in the East.