In their fourth game of the 2016 Orlando Summer League, the Indiana Pacers fell short to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 89-71. They acquired only one point for the Summer League standings after winning the first quarter.
In what may have been a bit of fool’s gold, the Pacers shot out to an excellent start, hitting their first six shots by particularly utilizing the perimeter. Rookie forward Georges Niang, who finished with eight points and four rebounds, initiated the scoring, connecting on a long two-point shot, followed by three similarly long two-point jumpers from Glenn Robinson III (12 points and six rebounds) and Joe Young (10 points and four assists).
After Niang picked up two early fouls, Young connected on a 3-pointer, and his rookie comrade shortly followed suit, nailing a triple to give Indiana the 15-5 advantage with 5:47 remaining.
Scotty Hopson entered the action with 3:40 remaining in the first quarter and quickly made his presence felt, drilling a 3-pointer and finishing a crafty baseline drive with a contested layup. The Thunder fought back, however, reducing Indiana’s lead to just two points at the end of the period, 20-18.
The second quarter was much more competitive throughout, as the lead alternated several times.
Jaron Johnson effectively put the team on his back for a brief period, scoring seven of his team high-tying 12 points on a driving layup, a 3-pointer from the right wing, and a pull-up jumper to tie the game at 28 points apiece with five minutes remaining in the half. He also showed his impact on the defensive end with a nice swat of Josh Huestis’ layup attempt.
Rakeem Christmas scored his sixth and final point on a cutting layup with 2:02 remaining for the Pacers’ final basket of the first half, giving them a 38-37 lead, but the Thunder ultimately stole the point for the second quarter, closing out the half 42-38 thanks to free throws from Mitch McGary (14 points) and Cameron Payne (19 points and six assists).
Following the intermission, Robinson III got the Pacers started with a 3-pointer from the left wing to cut the Thunder lead to just one point, 42-41. Oklahoma City would rally, however, scoring eight consecutive points to establish a more decisive lead, 50-41, forcing the Pacers’ Summer League coach Popeye Jones to take a timeout with 6:16 remaining in the third quarter.
That timeout seemed timely at the moment, as Niang drilled an open 3-pointer from the top of the key to ease the damage, but the Thunder subsequently embarked on a 9-0 run over the next 3:09 until Shayne Whittington hit a jumper to cut the lead to 13 points, 59-46.
Nate Wolters connected on one of his two free throw attempts to trim the lead to 12 points before Payne hit his second 3-pointer of the game, which gave the Thunder a 64-47 advantage at the end of the third quarter and their second earned point of the game.
Johnson cut the lead to 15 points with a jumper to start the fourth quarter, and teammate Dyshawn Pierre joined the action by getting to the line and knocking down both free throws to downgrade the deficit to just 13 points, 64-51.
But the ongoing trend of the second half persisted as the Thunder shot out on another run, this time outscoring the Pacers 17-1 over 4:13 of action before Young stopped the bleeding with a pull-up jumper with 5:07 left as Indiana trailed 81-54.
The Pacers played relatively well over the remaining minutes, outscoring the Thunder 17-8, but the already inflicted damage proved too mighty to overcome. Oklahoma City departed the contest having earned seven of a possible eight points in the victory.
The Pacers will play their final Summer League game on Friday. Visit Pacers.com/SummerLeague to learn more.