INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers kicked off the 2025/2026 NBA season with an NBA Finals rematch as they took on the reigning champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The team that the Pacers took all the way to game seven of the NBA Finals this past June. The NBA title appeared to be within reach before the Pacers’ All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton collapsed on the court in the first quarter with a torn Achilles tendon. Haliburton will miss the entire season.
The Pacers not only lost their star but also their starting center, Miles Turner, who departed for the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency.
Very similar to the NBA Finals, the Pacers and Thunder started with a back-and-forth first half, with reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way for the Thunder, dropping 21 points in the first half. Ajay Mitchell added 10 points of his own as the Thunder went into halftime leading 54-47.
Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 14 points and six rebounds while Obi Topin added 10 points off the bench in the first half.
As the second half got started, Aaron Wiggins racked up 11 points for the Thunder in the third quarter alone, throughout a closely contested third period.
The game continued to be back and forth into the final minutes, but right when it looked like the Pacers were out of it, Siakam hit a game-tying fadeaway jumper with just six seconds left to send the game into overtime.
The overtime period had no shortage of drama as the game continued to be back and forth with both teams hitting clutch shots. Once again, the Thunder appeared to have solidified a win with a Gilgeous-Alexander mid-range jumper, only to be matched when Bennedict Mathurin drove into the paint and hit a floater over the defense to send it into a second overtime.
In the second overtime, both teams appeared to be out of steam, but the Pacers couldn’t outlast the Thunder as Oklahoma City was finally able to pull away, winning 141-135.
Gilgeous-Alexander could not be stopped as he finished with a career high 55 points, shooting 23 of 26 from the free-throw line. Mitchell added 26 points with Wiggins dropping 23 of his own for the Thunder. Chet Holmgren finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Mathurin and Siakam led the charge for Indiana as Mathurin exploded in the second half. He finished with 36 points, going 9-19 from the field. Siakam finished with 32 points, going 12 of 25 from the field with 15 rebounds. Toppin also added 20 points in the contest.
The Pacers, now 0-1, looking to rebound, will head to Memphis to take on Ja Morant and the 1-0 Memphis Grizzlies Saturday at 8 p.m.