INDIANAPOLIS — Rookie Taelon Peter scored 18 points to lead the Pacers to a 116-101 win over the Thunder in an NBA preseason game and rematch of the NBA Finals on Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Pacers are 2-0 in preseason action and play again Monday night at home against San Antonio.
Fourth-year guard Bennedict Mathurin scored 16 points in the first half and forward Obi Toppin had 14 points before both rotation players were removed from action. Guard Quenton Jackson scored 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting including 2 of 4 from 3-point range before leaving with a sore right hamstring. Guard RayJ Dennis had 11 points, center James Wiseman had 10 points. Forward Jarace Walker had 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Chris Youngblood led the Thunder with 25 points.
Both reigning finalists gave the night off to numerous key players with a regular season rematch coming on Oct. 23. The Pacers allowed All-Star forward Pascal Siakam, point guard Andrew Nembhard and small forward Aaron Nesmith to sit out and were already missing veteran point guard T.J. McConnell and guards Ben Sheppard and Kam Jones with injuries, on top of All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, who is out for the season. The Thunder left 10 players at home in Oklahoma City including MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-NBA forward Jalen Williams and rotation players Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Hartensten, Alex Caruso and Kenrich Williams.
Here are three observations.
Taelon Peter splashes 3s, makes most of opportunities
The extensive injuries to the backcourt have given rookie Taelon Peter — the No. 54 pick out of Liberty — the chance to not only get minutes in the preseason, but time with starters and second-unit players. Peter, who is on a two-way contract, has been making the most of those minutes and he was even more impressive in his second game.
Peter led the Pacers with 18 poins on 6 of 11 shooting including 4 of 8 from 3-point range in 27 minutes on the floor. He also recorded five rebounds, four assists and two steals, showing he can play make and defend as well as hit shots. He’s a natural shooting guard, but he can handle the ball when he has to and his touch from distance is excellent. He will likely still spend most of his time with the Noblesville Boom, but if Sheppard, Jackson and Furphy are slow to return from their injuries he might have to make an impact early.
Johnny Furphy had another thunderous dunk before spraining his ankle
Johnny Furphy continues to show that he has no fear about taking it straight to defenders under the basket and dunking over top of them. This time it was Oklahoma City’s Malevy Leons who got in Furphy’s way, much like Bulls rookie Noa Essengue did when Furphy dunked over him at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in July.
Furphy dunked over Leons with similar ferocity, throwing down a right-handed tomahawk dunk and sending the Pacers’ bench into elation. Furphy finished with eight points on 3 of 6 shooting, but he also suffered a left ankle sprain and left the game.
Cameron Payne scoreless in Pacers preseason debut
With T.J. McConnell hurt and Andrew Nembhard sitting out, Cameron Payne got the start at point guard just two days after he joined the Pacers. He showed proficiency running the offense and a willingness to bring pressure on the defensive end, but it’s still clear that he’s still getting his feet under him. After all, as of Wednesday, he was in New York thinking he was going to go home to Phoenix for the season.
Payne finished with three assists against two turnovers and had moments when his connection with his teammates was sharp. He figured out he can just throw the ball as high as he can to Obi Toppin on the break, finding him with a pass just inside the half-court line for a layup in transition early in the game. However, he and center Jay Huff — himself just acquired by the Pacers in July — had a miscommunication on a lob later in the game that almost resulted in a turnover.
And Payne couldn’t get a shot of his own to fall. He missed two 3-pointers on the game’s first possession and finished with zero points on 0 of 4 shooting in 19 minutes on the floor.
Get IndyStar’s Pacers coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Pacers Update newsletter.