Pacers thrash OKC Thunder by 57 points; Magic squeak past Grizzlies
DOMANTAS Sabonis had 26 points, 19 rebounds and a career-high 14 assists to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 152-95 blowout win over the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder on the road on Saturday.
The Pacers’ 152 points were the most in franchise history since the team moved to the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976-77 and the 57-point margin was the largest loss in Thunder franchise history.
Indiana flirted with the largest margin in NBA history — Cleveland’s 68-point win over Miami in December 1991 — with the Pacers leading by as many as 67 in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers (30-33) swept the season series and snapped a two-game losing streak, remaining in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
Oklahoma City (21-43) lost for the 19th time in 21 games.
Indiana hit a franchise-record 21 three-pointers, six by Doug McDermott.
Sabonis had missed the last six games with lower-back soreness but was dominant from the start, as was another former Thunder player, McDermott.
By the end of the first quarter, Sabonis had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists as the Pacers scored the game’s first eight points and led by as many as 19 in the first quarter.
Just less than two minutes to go before half time, Sabonis earned his seventh triple-double of the season with his 10th assist.
By half time, Sabonis had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
McDermott tied his career-high with 31 points, scoring 16 with four 3-pointers in the first quarter.
The Pacers kept pouring it on in the second, starting the second with a 22-9 run, then stretched their lead to 29 midway through and eventually led by 36 by half time.
Caris LeVert added 25 points for Indiana, which set season highs in field-goal percentage (65.5) and three-point percentage (63.6). Sabonis was 10 of 13 from the floor.
Moses Brown led the Thunder with 16 points, going 7 of 9 from the floor. Oklahoma City was just 8 of 38 from behind the arc and 11 of 23 on free throws.
The Pacers hammered the Thunder despite being without Malcolm Brogdon (sore right hamstring) and JaKarr Sampson (concussion protocol).
The Thunder didn’t have Luguentz Dort (right hip strain) or Aleksej Pokuševski (left knee contusion).
MAGICAL SHOT
Meanwhile, rookie Cole Anthony swished a deep three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left to cap his season-best 26 points and provide the Orlando Magic with a 112-111 comeback victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.
Anthony’s dramatic shot over Memphis’ Kyle Anderson was the finishing touch as the Magic overcame a 20-point deficit to split the back-to-back with the Grizzlies.
Moritz Wagner scored a season-high 24 points and Dwayne Bacon added 23 as Orlando (20-44) won for just the third time in the past 16 games. Rookie R.J. Hampton tallied a season-high 18 points to help the Magic snap a nine-game home losing streak.
Dillon Brooks scored 23 points for Memphis, and he knocked down an 18-footer with seven seconds left to give the Grizzlies (32-31) a 111-109 lead.
Ja Morant recorded 22 points and seven assists, Anderson scored 21 points, and Jonas Valančiūnas had 11 points and 16 rebounds for Memphis.
The Grizzlies beat the Magic (92-75) on Friday night in Memphis. — Reuters
