Domantas Sabonis is back, folks.
The sixth-year forward posted a triple-double in his return from injury Friday, helping lead the Pacers to a 113-110 overtime win over the Thunder. He had been out for more than a week after spraining his left ankle against the Lakers on Jan. 19.
Sabonis finished with 24 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in 44 minutes. His 18 boards ties for his fourth most this season, as he’d done it twice already back in 2021.
He got rolling right away, scoring the first points of the game on a short jumper after winning the tipoff. He continued to affect the game in all phases over the ensuing 47 minutes, but the Pacers fell behind by as many as 16 midway through the third quarter.
Sabonis wasn’t going to let the game finish that way, though. By the end of the third, he and Indiana cut the deficit to eight. And just a few minutes into the fourth, Sabonis laid in an easy bucket to give the Pacers an 83-82 lead.
With just under a minute to go, Sabonis was at it again. Jeremy Lamb drove in and attempted a game-tying floater, but it missed. Sabonis was there to corral the offensive rebound, however, and put in the deuce to knot the game at 100-100, a score that would hold until the end of regulation and force overtime.
Sabonis got it going from the start again, scoring the first bucket of overtime. The only other points he scored came on a layup with 1:01 left, but his teammates did more than enough to pick up the slack; Lamb scored five, and Justin Holiday scored four, including a breakaway layup after a huge steal with just under a minute to go.
Sabonis’ 24 led the Pacers. Holiday finished with 22 points and five rebounds, and Lamb added 14 points off the bench. Luguentz Dort led all players with 27 points.
