The Thunder defeat the Pacers 141-135, improving to 2-0 and becoming the first team in NBA history to go to double overtime in each of their first two games.
INDIANAPOLIS – As if seven games over 18 days back in June weren’t enough – a total of 1,680 minutes head-to-head, duking it out for the Larry O’Brien Trophy – the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers had to push it when they renewed acquaintances Thursday.
A regular old 48-minute game? Bah, not enough. OK, so 53? We’re just getting started. It took two overtimes, 58 minutes in all, to pry them apart, with the Thunder winning 141-135 while logging their second double-OT work shift of the young season.
OKC got their rings before tipoff Tuesday at home and haven’t rested since. They needed an extra 10 to beat Houston that night, then doubled up again at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. At the rate they’re going, Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is either going to find himself chasing Wilt Chamberlain’s historic single-season marks for points (50.4) and minutes (48.5) per game – he’s at 45.0 and 46.2, respectively – or he’s going to break down by Thanksgiving.
A purported “Finals rematch” that smacked a bit of false advertising when it started – both teams were missing significant players from that championship round four months ago – the sight and smell of each other in competition produced a reasonable facsimile of those battles. In October.
Here are four takeaways from the OKC victory, in which the Thunder picked right up by beating an East foe the way they had repeatedly (29 of 30 times) last season:
1. Depth vs. desperation
One game into the 2025-26 regular season, the Thunder showed up for work Tuesday with seven players on the official NBA injury report. They’d already listed five before their opener (including All-Star Jalen Williams), then added Alex Caruso (concussion) and Cason Wallace (knee) after the grinder over the Rockets. Heckuva way to start a title defense.
“You deal with this stuff at different points in a season,” said coach Mark Daigneault. “Every team does. We happen to be dealing with it now but we try not to make any excuses about it.”
Indiana began its season arguably worse off, with team MVP Tyrese Haliburton out all year with a torn Achilles, sparkplug guard T.J. McConnell sidelined with a hamstring tear and center Myles Turner gone to Milwaukee as a free agent. The attrition got dialed up even more in the game: Andrew Nembhard, Haliburton’s replacement as Pacers point guard, suffered a bruised shoulder and was done by halftime. Wing Aaron Nesmith fouled out with half of the final quarter to go. Then Bennedict Mathurin did, too. And Ben Sheppard.
No wonder OKC could swarm Pascal Siakam with three defenders in the late moments – there was no one else left for them to cover.
The Thunder, by design, have a roster featuring what Pacers coach Rick Carlisle called “interchangeable pieces” and it showed. Instead of Williams or Wallace or Chet Holmgren this night, it was Ajay Mitchell (26 points) and Aaron Wiggins (23) providing the backup scoring.
From approximately the 55th minute, the Pacers got outscored 14-7, their cupboard bare.
“Disappointed but proud,” Carlisle said of his team afterward.
2. Mathurin as Indiana’s wild card
Bennedict Mathurin speaks to the media following Indiana's tough loss to OKC.
Nembhard had shown his skills in the playoffs, making him the logical choice to fill Haliburton’s void in driving the Pacers’ attack. Nesmith was the valuable 3-and-D guy rewarded with a contract extension right at the league’s deadline this week.
But Mathurin – who did not get an extension and basically shrugged it off – could be the guy Indiana leans on this season, rather unexpectedly.
The 6-foot-6 native of Montreal and the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft dropped in Carlisle’s rotation when it mattered most. He averaged nearly 30 minutes a game last season, then dipped to just 17.5 in the playoffs, undermining himself with inconsistency and some headstrong ways.
But he started last night for only the second time since March (none at all in the postseason) and was the chief reason Indiana dragged the defending champs beyond three hours.
Mathurin scored 36 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, sank as many free throws (shooting 15-for-17) as the other Pacers combined and did about as well as anyone could trying to guard SGA. He was tempestuous, of course, frequently throwing up his arms and barking toward referees in frustration over whistles and non-whistles. But he was the co-star Siakam needed – until he fouled out just 49 seconds into the second overtime.
3. SGA might MV-Repeat
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander records career-high 55 points in 2OT thriller win
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander records career-high 55 points in 2OT thriller.
Gilgeous-Alexander leaves many in awe of his tremendous offensive skills. Others – likely fans of opposing teams – can be driven to distraction by his penchant for drawing fouls and free throws.
He lined up 26 at the charity stripe, making 23, and took seven before the game was five minutes old. It’s a scoring tool, sure, but it backs his defenders into foul trouble and enables OKC to set up its defense when their opponents start from a standstill 94 feet away.
Gilgeous-Alexander now has reached 50 points five times since joining the Thunder in 2019-20. That ties him for the most in franchise history with Russell Westbrook, one ahead of Kevin Durant. The 2025 Kia Most Valuable Player and scoring champion also contributed eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, a blocked shot and 15-for-31 shooting.
“He is thinking constantly about how he can get better,” Daigneault said. “He’s constantly self-reflecting. He’s constantly self-critical.”
The Thunder coach also lauded SGA’s ability to protect the ball. He has just five turnovers in 92+ minutes this season. That’s 1 per 18.4 minutes, better than his 14.2 rate last season or 14.3 over his first eight years.
4. Appreciation for Nancy Leonard
One of the most familiar and valuable people in Pacers history was honored with a video tribute and a moment of celebration immediately before the anthem. Nancy Leonard, wife of longtime coach and broadcaster Bobby (Slick) Leonard, died in September at age 93. And her contributions to the franchise went well beyond being the Hall of Fame coach’s spouse.
Nancy Leonard became the first female front-office executive in the NBA when she served as assistant general manager, and she unofficially acted for decades as the team’s den mother, welcoming them to Indianapolis, helping them find housing and hosting them in her home.
She reportedly started pro basketball’s first dance team, and in the mid-1970s she was the driving force behind a local telethon that raised funds necessary to keep the Pacers afloat. That enabled them to be one of the four ABA franchises absorbed into the NBA starting with the 1976-77 season.
Even after Slick’s death at age 88 in 2021, Nancy Leonard was a fixture behind the Pacers’ bench, sharing a handshake, a peck on the cheek and encouragement to Carlisle before games.
“Had it not been for her, the Pacers would not be here in all likelihood,” Carlisle said. “And if the Pacers had gone away in 1977, when she had the telethon to keep the team solvent, it’s probably pretty unlikely the [NFL] Colts would have come. So this would have been a Pottersville of professional sports without her.”
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
