Pacers stay strong to earn emotional win over Thunder in OKC

After a strong start at the scene of their Game 7 loss last June, the Pacers gutted out a well-earned W with a strong team effort to close our the game.

The Pacers, spending plenty of days with the worst record in the NBA of late, took their 0-3 current road trip record into OKC and beat the Thunder, still the best team in the league, 117-114.

Lloyd Pierce addressed the team after the win saying, “Hey listen, last time we were in this building, it was a lot of pain, a lot of heartbreak. For you guys to come out and be undermanned tonight, was a huge team win for you guys.”

The Pacers played like all of that pain and heartbreak rushed back into their their bloodstream when they walked into the Paycom Center, site of the devastating events of Game 7 last June when Tyrese Haliburton went out early with his Achilles injury and the team’s championship dreams faded away in the second half.

Haliburton, who has been the team’s biggest supporter on the bench this season, was not in attendance. Hali told Amazon Prime’s Tayor Rooks, he didn’t want to return to OKC until he was ready to play. He didn’t want to stare at the spot on the floor all night without being able to take the court.

While we all know Haliburton absorbed the bulk of the pain (physically) on that fateful night in June, the emotional pain ripped through the whole team and this win proved to serve as a bit of catharsis on their way to recovering to eventually return to that level of play, again in the coming years.

Andrew Nembhard also expressed how this was more than a normal win for this team, via Dustin Dopirak.

"Tyrese Haliburton Revenge Game, man," said Andrew Nembhard, who has held down starting point guard duties in the two-time All-Star Haliburton's stead. "It felt good. It felt really good. Just because you got kind of a small win within a season that hasn't been that good. It's nice to come together as a group and have a lot of guys contribute. It was a fun game, obviously, playing here. Good atmosphere, competitive group on the other side. It was nice."

Nice, indeed, as the Pacers put together as close to a full 48-minute winning effort as they have all season. Offered several chances to fold to the champs, they responded every time and close out the tight win in regulation that brought back the feels of warm weather and games last May and June.

The Pacers started the game without a center, instead adding Jarace Walker to the lineup and letting Pascal Siakam start on Chet Holmgren who spends plenty of time away from the basket. Andrew Nembhard set the tone early, with 8 points and 3 assists in the first quarter, appearing to relish the duel with fellow Canadian, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

SGA had 10 first quarter points and went on to score 47 points, so Nembhard would need more help than the usual Pascal Siakam effort. Nembhard finished with 27 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds, while Siakam added 21 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. But on this night, they would get help with the heavy lifting.

Jarace Walker and Aaron Nesmith joined the party early and delivered in a big way. I wrote about both trending in opposite ways after the Boston loss, but both were ready to go in this one. It appeared the circumstances and environment of returning to Paycom Center impacted Nesmith as much as anyone, snapping him into postseason mode.

Nesmith hit his first 3-pointer and finished making 3 of 5 from deep after shooting under 15% from deep of late. Nesmith finished with 17 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds and was an active as one of many on defense for the Pacers who were able to ‘limit’ SGA to 12 free throw attempts, despite his scoring binge inside and around the lane.

SGA is simply incredible, but like the Pacers the Thunder were also missing key players in Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. SGA’s options for help were limited and he didn’t get much help at times. There certainly wasn’t enough help when Nesmith turned the corner to drive left through the lane for a monster dunk in the fourth quarter that served as one of the moments this game will be remembered for with the bench celebrating as he went the other way.

The game really tipped in the Pacers favor thanks to a career game from Jarace Walker, who under different circumstances, without the emotion, would be the focus of any story on this game. As mentioned after the Boston game, Walker has shown increased comfort in making scoring plays. Being assertive while maintaining control and to finish plays. That effort expanded in OKC as Walker scored a career-high 26 points and took on the challenge the Thunder threw at him to close out the win at crunch time. This included several drives in the lane and getting behind the defense for a couple of dunks. None bigger than when he slipped past a distracted Chet Holmgren for a baseline two-handed dunk on a baseline out of bounds situation.

The Pacers missed 9 of their 20 free throws on the night, with Walker making just 3 of his first 7 attempts in the game. But as the Pacers held on for dear life, Walker stepped up and validated his career night with some huge makes. Twice in the last 10 seconds of the game, Walker went to the line with the Pacers up one point and made both free throws to give the Pacers a three-point lead which they were finally able to make hold at the final buzzer.

The fifth starter Johnny Furphy continued his strong effort on the defensive end and the glass. He missed a few shots around the rim including a challenged layup after making a steal, but that ball was kept alive and eventually made its way to Ben Sheppard for a 3-ball. While Nesmith and Walker had signatures dunks, Furphy had a flying-in-from-nowhere block on a soft Chet Holmgren finish near the rim. Outta here with that stuff!

The Pacers played all four centers eventually, but only Micah Potter played more than six minutes, earning 24 minutes with his effort on the glass which paid off late when he shook off some early missed 3-balls to hit a big huge three with three minutes left that pushed the Pacers lead back to eight points at the time. At that exact moment, I think it is safe to say, Potter was having the most fun he’s ever had playing hoops.

By the end of the night, the whole team, roster and coaches, would earn a win in OKC which was certainly the most fun this group has had playing the game this season.

The Pacers close out their road trip in Atlanta on Monday night. Bennedict Mathurin has been close to returning with indications he may play on this trip which makes this the last opportunity for his return on the road.

Pacers vs. Hawks

Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA

When: Monday, January 26, 2026 - 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

Odds: Pacers +1.5

Projected Starters

Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy, Pascal Siakam

Hawks: Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Corey Kispert, Jalen Johnson. Onyeka Okongwu

Injuries

Pacers: Quenton Jackson (ankle) - questionable, Bennedict Mathurin (thumb) - out, Obi Toppin (hammy) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out

Hawks: Zaccharie Risacher (knee) - out, Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles) - out