Oklahoma City Thunder forward Aleksej Pokusevski will not return to the game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday after exiting early due to illness, the Thunder announced.
The illness is not related to COVID-19.
Pokusevski played about 5 1/2 minutes of the first quarter before being subbed out.
He finishes the game with two points on 1-for-3 shooting to go with an assist and a pair of rebounds.
It’s an unfortunate break for the Thunder, but the team did a get a boost pregame with the return of Isaiah Roby. He was a game-time decision with a sprained toe after missing the matchup on Monday, but he ended up playing.
In the first half, Roby had seven points in 15 minutes.
The Thunder trailed the Pacers 67-57 at halftime. Indiana is also experiencing a rash of injuries, including to Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis. The Pacers started three guards, small forward Justin Holiday and forward Oshae Brissett.
Oklahoma City, who started Moses Brown, Darius Bazley and Pokusevski alongside Svi Mykhailiuk and Theo Maledon, attacked the paint hard, scoring 22 points in the paint in the first quarter and 16 more in the second.
Despite the height difference, the Thunder found themselves down double-digits as Indiana made 10 of its 22 3-point attempts.
Tune to Bally Sports Oklahoma to watch the second half.
This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook!
