Jan. 24, 2026, 1:10 p.m. CT
Returning to Paycom Center for the first time since the nightmare-fueled Game 7, the Indiana Pacers had one goal — get their lick back. Or as much of it as they can, considering the circumstances.
There’s no one-for-one replacement with basketball immortality. Finishing just shy of a Larry O’Brien trophy is the type of stuff that lives in your mind for the rest of your life.
The Indiana Pacers were able to finally get over it a little bit, though. The Oklahoma City Thunder dropped a frustrating 117-114 loss where a lengthy injury report finally caught up to them. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren combined for 72 points, but it didn’t matter as the rest of the rotation failed to show up.
Amid a lost season plagued by their own injuries, Andrew Nembhard found solace in the upset win over the Thunder. Both teams are on opposite sides of the NBA standings. The Pacers punted this season as soon as Tyrese Haliburton sustained a torn Achilles in Game 7 six months ago.
“Tyrese Haliburton Revenge Game, man,” Nembhard said. “It felt good. It felt really good. Just because you’ve got kind of a small win within a season that hasn’t been that good. It was nice to come together as a group, have a lot of guys contributing.”
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Nembhard showed out with 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 11 assists and seven rebounds. He was Indiana’s answer to Gilgeous-Alexander dropping an unreal 47 points on 17-of-28 shooting.
You could tell from the jump how badly the Pacers wanted this rare win. They threw the first punch and were ahead for most of the game. Up by as many as 17 points, they barely escaped with the road victory as Isaiah Joe missed a corner 3-pointer on the final possession that would’ve sent the game into overtime.
For the Thunder, the main theme from this game is that they need reinforcements. Badly. You can’t win an NBA game two-on-five — even if those two are probable All-Star players. When either was off the floor, one side of the ball badly dipped below acceptable levels. When both were, yeesh. It was ugly.