Myles Turner dominates on both ends of the court in Indiana Pacers win over Oklahoma City Thunder

In this battle between 2 young, elite point guards in the NBA, it was the big man Myles Turner who took over, as he contributed on both ends of the court to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 121-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.

Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are 2 of the best point guards in today’s game. Despite both being elite, their play styles are different. Hali is an outstanding playmaker with great court vision while SGA is a dominant scorer who can get a bucket in any way he chooses. Both players play to their strengths and have led their respective teams to success this season.

In this contest, Myles Turner erupted for a team-high 24 points on 11/17 shooting while also swatting away 4 shots. Tyrese Haliburton did his thing as well, finishing with 18 points and 12 assists while getting 2 steals and 2 blocks of his own. Pascal Siakam had 18 points with 11 boards while Aaron Nesmith scored 15 points.

For OKC, Shai led the team with 30 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds. This was the 25-year-old’s 48th game of scoring 30 or more points which is the most in the NBA. The 2-time All-Star has now scored 30 points against every team except for the Bucks, Mavs, and Raptors. If he accomplishes that, he will be the second player in NBA history to achieve that feat (James Harden did this in 2019).

Lu Dort finished with 18 points while Chet Holmgren recorded 15 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 3 made triples. Josh Giddey scored 15 points and grabbed 7 boards in his 28 minutes.

Indiana improves to 37-29 with this win and jump up to the 6th seed in the East, holding a 0.5 game lead over the 7th seeded 76ers. This was a big win for the Pacers as they not only beat the best team in the West but also sit out of the play-in race (for now). They are 6-4 over their last 10 games and will look to keep this momentum up tomorrow against the Chicago Bulls.

OKC drops to 45-20 with this loss and is now tied with the Nuggets for the best record in the West. Luckily for the Thunder, they hold the tiebreaker against Denver but losing this game hurts them in such a competitive race for the top seed. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and will look to bounce back on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.