Anybody hoping to quickly wash away the nasty taste of OU’s loss to Texas with some fun preseason basketball was severely disappointed. Instead, a three-hour slugfest was met with disinterest and concern as most folks likely flipped channels.

The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a 116-101 preseason loss to the Indiana Pacers. It was quite the juxtaposition to look at a quarter-filled Gainbridge FieldHouse, considering it was the center of the sports world just four months ago.

A pair of painful-looking injuries emptied any excitement over this preseason contest. The first happened with Isaiah Joe. His knee buckled the wrong way. He hobbled off to the bench in the opening minutes. Ajay Mitchell twisted his ankle and needed help to get off the floor.

We’ll see the severity of those two injuries. The Thunder continue to suffer from paper cuts in their depth. Add Joe and Mitchell to the growing list of players who’ve sustained injuries during training camp and preseason.

But back to the game, it was a high-scoring start at first. Mitchell made up for lost time in his first preseason game. His scoring creation was displayed as he drove the basket and attacked Indiana’s defense. The Thunder were in a 30-29 hole after the first quarter.

The second quarter saw both sides continue to put up points. The Thunder had another 29-point frame, but Mitchell’s ankle injury clouded any enthusiasm. The Pacers had a 62-58 halftime lead as Obi Toppin reminded you why he won an NBA Finals game by himself.

The second half looked closer to a Summer League contest. The Thunder sat out Mitchell and Cason Wallace. That meant they only had seven players available as the Exhibit 10 guys were given some serious second-half run. All that said, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see OKC’s offense dip.

The Thunder only scored 17 points. Paired with the referees suddenly slowing the pace with a whistle every other possession, this turned it into a snoozefest that overstayed its welcome. To the point that OKC commentators Michael Cage and Chris Fisher sidebar their conversation.

After the third quarter, the Thunder were in a 91-75 deficit. The Pacers ballooned their lead to as high as 26 points in the fourth quarter. Without a true playmaker, OKC struggled to generate quality looks. Chris Youngblood caught fire and helped them score 25 points in the final frame.

The Thunder shot 39% from the field and went 12-of-37 (32.4%) from 3. They shot 25-of-30 on free throws. They had 18 assists on 32 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Mitchell finished with 16 quick points before his ankle roll. Youngblood went off for 25 points off the bench. Brooks Barnhizer had a 16-point double-double. Ousmane Dieng had 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 47% from the field and went 12-of-48 (25%) from 3. They shot 22-of-29 on free throws. They had 31 assists on 41 baskets. Seven Pacers players scored double-digit points.

Toppin had 14 points and four rebounds in one half. Bennedict Mathurin scored 16 points. Taelon Peter scored 18 points off the bench. Quenton Jackson had 14 points. RayJ Dennis scored 11 points. Jarace Walker and James Wiseman each had 10 points.

Once the Thunder decided that the starters wouldn’t travel to Indiana, it downgraded this preseason exhibition from a dress rehearsal to a scrimmage for the end of the bench. That in itself made it a skippable watch. But when you throw in the injuries sustained by two key rotation players, you hope neither loses regular-season time.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Ajay Mitchell: B-plus

Taking a moment to be helped off the floor, you can see the mixture of anger and disappointment in Mitchell’s face. After missing time with an ankle sprain, a dazzling preseason debut was cut short with another ankle injury. That popped the balloon of any positives you can take away from this outing.

Mitchell finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, three assists and one rebound. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and went 4-of-5 on free throws. He had two steals and one block.

Playing with the rest of the Thunder bench, Mitchell was a cut above the rest. His drives to the basket resulted in buckets. He stayed aggressive and was rewarded with several trips to the free-throw line. He only played 16 minutes before he rolled his ankle, but it was enough to receive plenty of social media hype.

Even though they won an NBA championship, the Thunder need somebody else to run the offense. Too many times last season did you see an inconsistent bench lineup. Mitchell could help solve that. He’s shown enough on-ball creation to suggest he could fortify a rotation spot.

Now, it’s about Mitchell’s injury. He just returned from an ankle sprain. Now, it looks like he rolled it when he stepped on Barnhizer’s foot. The latest injury will be something to watch. The Thunder hope it won’t affect his Opening Night status.

Chris Youngblood: A-plus

For those who switched channels, they missed out on Youngblood’s best preseason performance. The microwave scorer dominated in the second half and helped make the final margin look prettier. Add this outing to the long list of reasons why he should grab the final two-way spot.

Youngblood finished with 25 points on 6-of-11 shooting, five rebounds and three assists. He shot 4-of-9 from 3 and went 9-of-10 on free throws.

Those are some Shai Gilgeous-Alexander numbers. That’s about as efficient as you can get at putting up 25-plus points. The constant free throws were an element Youngblood previously didn’t show. Because everybody else was out, he had more chances to drive to the basket.

It’ll be difficult to properly judge Youngblood’s second-half takeover, but he’s shown enough since his arrival in OKC when he went undrafted to suggest his outside shot is real enough to grab the third two-way spot. Shooting is always a hot commodity in the NBA. It should buy him a roster spot.

Brooks Barnhizer: B

The Thunder experimented a bit here. They went super-small as Barnhizer was a frontcourt starter. While he might not have great size, he was still active both on defense and on the boards. The offense is still a work in progress, but you have to like his activity.

Barnhizer finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 11 rebounds and one assist. He shot 2-of-2 from 3 and went 2-of-5 on free throws. He also had two steals.

Defensively, you probably can’t get away with Barnhizer at the four. That said, there could be situations where it enhances your speed and transition opportunities. He’s a unique puzzle piece to the Thunder that will take time before he figures out his role.

Barnhizer should get comfortable with the teammates he played with in the second half. Those are the guys he will likely share the court with most in his rookie season. The two-way player will get plenty of playing time in the G League as he’s buried on OKC’s depth chart.

Isaiah Joe: C

The biggest goal for preseason is to ensure everybody stays healthy. For a second straight year, the Thunder have struggled to do that. Add Joe to the list of OKC bench players who sustained an injury. His knee bent when he tried to box out. After it looked like he’d walk it off, he needed help to exit the floor.

Joe finished with four points on 1-of-1 shooting, one rebound and one assist. He only played six minutes before he was injured.

This is another injury to monitor. The Thunder will already be without Kenrich Williams, Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber to start the 2025-26 regular season. With less than two weeks to go until Opening Night, it’ll be important to see if Joe will be ready to go.

While the Thunder haven’t had a catastrophic injury yet, all of these small injuries to their role players are starting to add up. It’s been eerily similar to last year’s preseason. You don’t want a repeat of last year’s regular season, where they’re constantly juggling injuries.

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