Pacers OT loss to Thunder further strains rotation depth
The Pacers played up to their usual effort standard which helped highlight the areas in need of attention going forward.
The Pacers lost to the Thunder, 141-135 in double-OT in an exceptional home opener, save the final minute of the second overtime.
Both teams were short-handed with the Thunder missing Alex Caruso and Jalen Williams. By halftime the Pacers were in much worse shape with Tyrese Haliburton in a pink cardigan and Andrew Nembhard unable to answer the bell in the third quarter after straining his left shoulder midway through the first half.
With TJ McConnell and Quenton Jackson also on ice, the Pacers went forward without their top four (FOUR!!!) point guard options. Ben Sheppard started in Nembhard’s place and rookie Taelon Peter was thrown in the fire playing his first point guard minutes in his first NBA game after not even starting at Liberty last year.
And yet, here they were, battling the champs who were getting an MVP effort from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander through one OT when the Pacers let go of a chance to close ‘em out at the line, before fouls turned out to be too much to tolerate.
SGA finished with 55 points, drawing, oh, I don’t know…a MILLION fouls which went a long way to Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin and Ben Sheppard all fouling out late in the game. Nesmith was the first to go after playing 26 minutes with 5 points and 7 rebounds.
The frustrating loss revealed some good stuff from the Pacers as they will trudge forward without their point guards starting on Saturday night in Memphis, the first of three consecutive road game to really tip off the regular season grind.
Bennedict Mathurin was ready for the challenge against his Canadian hoop brothers in SGA and Lu Dort, delivering an efficient 36 points and 11 rebounds and playing a big role in getting the game to OT. Benn’s partner in crime was Pascal Siakam who showed up with an All-Star effort to add 32 points and 15 rebounds.
Off the bench, Obi Toppin scored 20 points despite missing all 8 of this 3-point attempts. Ben Sheppard added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in a solid effort considering his lack of practice time in preseason. Shep looked far more confident and assertive on the floor, particularly at the offensive end which is a natural byproduct of being throw in the fire for deep playoff runs in his first two seasons.
Jarace Walker was following that same path until he was injured at the end of the Easteern Conference Finals last year. Still, Walker came in ready to impact the game and added 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists with only 2 turnovers. His highlight was one of those assists, a quick and perfect cross-court pass in transition to Peter in the corner for a 3-ball that lit up the Fieldhouse.
The Pacers were sloppy with the ball in preseason, with more than 20 turnovers per game, but ended the 58 minutes of game time against the Thunder with only 14 turnovers.
As for the problems, the Pacers had some throughout the game. The center committee saw Isaiah Jackson start, with Jay Huff and Tony Bradley playing some throughout the game. The trio COMBINED for 7 points and 8 fouls which was why Toppin played more center minutes than anyone else. The smaller lineup actually worked well for the Pacers with the Thunder breaking up their two bigs when things were tight at winning time. But long term, the Pacers are gonna need some rapid improvement from the bigs to sustain any success.
Without that defensive threat at the rim, the Thunder guards were looking to get in the paint which often brought out a whistle. While SGA was the lethal and annoying head of the snake in that Thunder game plan, backup guard Ajay Mitchell was critical to the winning effort, working his way to the rim often down the stretch to finish with 26 points on layups and free throw, no threes.
Speaking of free throws, one last negative were the 10 misses on 40 tries the Pacers had, particularly late in the game and OT. Pascal Siakam was trying to carry the Pacers to a win in OT, but his missed freebies kept the Thunder around to send it to OT. Siakam was 5 of 12 from the line for the night which hurt considering the Thunder were 45 for 51 from the line with half of those from SGA (not a fun watch, despite the effectiveness).
So, now the Pacers try to find a way to patch together their rotation on the road against a Grizzlies team that was simply trounced by Miami on Friday night. Their starting backcourt is listed as questionable with the Memphis rotation depth also hurting with backup guards Ty Jerome and Scottie Pippen Jr. already out.
The Pacers rotation saw 11 players play in game one even before the loss of Nembhard. The trip of centers played into that, so we’ll see if that continues. Johnny Furphy was available and played the final minute due to foul issues, but is questionable with an ankle injury that wasn’t quite ready for prime time in the opener.
Considering the current circumstances, the Pacers are going to give their usual effort but the opportunity for young guys like Walker, Sheppard, Furphy and obviously, Mathurin to show they can deliver will be abundant this season. At least in game one, they showed growth in their game to play with with both high effort and at a high level and against the defending champs.
Next step is to bring that same energy and level of play against every team, no matter where they play during the remaining 81 games of the regular season slog, starting on Saturday night in Memphis.
Pacers vs. Grizzlies
Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN
When: Saturday, October 25, 2025 - 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +1.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Ben Sheppard, Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Isaiah Jackson
Grizzlies: Ja Morant, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jaylen Wells, Jaron Jackson Jr., Jock Landale
Injuries
Pacers: Johnny Furphy (ankle) - questionable, Andrew Nembhard (shoulder) - out, Quenton Jackson (hammy) - out, TJ McConnell (hammy) - out, Kam Jones (back) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out
Grizzlies: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ankle) - questionable, Ja Morant (ankle) - questionable, Brandon Clarke (knee) - out, Zach Edey (ankle) - out, Ty Jerome (calf) - out, Scotty Pippen Jr. (toe) - out, Vince Williams Jr. (heel) - out