Pacers make history in 152-95 whipping of Thunder
FILE – Justin Holiday #8 of the Indiana Pacers gives directions to Aaron Holiday #3 and Domantas Sabonis #11 during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on March 01, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
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 host Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
The result was a home team’s largest margin of defeat in NBA history.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Pacers’ 152 points were the most in franchise history since the team moved to the NBA in 1976-77. 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.
Article continues after this advertisementOklahoma City (21-43) lost for the 19th time in 21 games.
Indiana hit a franchise-record 21 3-pointers, six by Doug McDermott.
Sabonis had missed the past six games with lower-back soreness but was dominant from the start, as was another former Thunder player, McDermott.
Domantas Sabonis becomes the third player with a first-half triple double since 1997-98! 🤯@Dsabonis11: 26p/19r/14a in @Pacers W pic.twitter.com/RKkwNxZWCK
— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2021
By the end of the first quarter, Sabonis had eight points, seven rebounds and eight assists as the Pacers scored the game’s first eight points and led by as many as 19 in the first quarter.
Just under two minutes to go before halftime, Sabonis earned his seventh triple-double of the season with his 10th assist.
By halftime, Sabonis had 22 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 24-9 run, then stretched their lead to 29 midway through and eventually led by 36 by halftime.
Caris LeVert added 25 points for Indiana, which set season highs in field-goal percentage (65.5) and 3-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 Pokusevski (left knee contusion).
