After passing the half-century mark, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needed a breather. Huffing and puffing while hugging the basketball, the reigning MVP took a few deep breaths in and leaned on his elbow to get some much-needed few seconds off his feet.
The Oklahoma City Thunder survived another thriller. This time, a 141-135 double overtime win over the Indiana Pacers. Make that two-for-two for the reigning NBA champions in playing beyond regulation.
Advertisement
Talk about a stressful start to the season. Last season, the Thunder made NBA history in several ways. They set the league record for the largest point differential. Through two games, it’s been the opposite. They’re the first team ever to play two straight 2OT games to start their year.
As the Thunder were without Jalen Williams and several other role players, Gilgeous-Alexander had to step up with a career-high mark. Other role players also enjoyed the additional possessions that went their way. In a game where neither side led by more than seven points, it was always a close contest.
Playing their opener, the Pacers were out for some revenge. While it won’t be an eye for an eye, they showed up like a team that wanted to wash away the foul taste of their 2025 NBA Finals. The Thunder fell in a 25-22 deficit after the first quarter.
Afterward, the Thunder got into a groove. They scored 32 points in the second frame. Gilgeous-Alexander had 21 points at the break. Ajay Mitchell stepped up with 10 points. Keep that in mind for the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Pascal Siakam was Indiana’s top scorer. The Thunder had a 54-47 halftime lead.
Advertisement
Usually, the third quarter is when the Thunder put games to bed. Or at least, that was the case last season. But the Pacers flipped the script. Bennedict Mathurin turned into a microwave scorer. Indiana scored 35 points in the frame. OKC’s lead was cut to 81-78 after the third quarter. We were on our way to another stressful ending.
It took less than five minutes into the final frame before the Pacers retook the lead. Siakam’s outside jumper put Indiana up 95-94 with a little over seven minutes left. Buckle up, ESPN was about to get its money’s worth like NBC did when the NBA cleared out its schedule for the Thunder.
From that point on, the Thunder and Pacers seesawed the lead. One unreal jumper after another. After Gilgeous-Alexander put OKC up 113-111 with 13 seconds left, Siakam’s pull-up jumper tied it up. After Gilgeous-Alexander badly missed a potential outside bucket, the buzzer sounded. Five more minutes to go.
The first overtime period saw plenty of scores. Mitchell stepped up. He had a huge driving and-one play. After Gilgeous-Alexander scored a stepback jumper to give the Thunder a 124-122 lead with 27 seconds left, Mathurin needed little time to match him with a driving layup.
Advertisement
Tied at 124 points, we headed to a second overtime. If you thought teams would struggle with fatigue at this point, think again. The Thunder and Pacers exchanged 2K-esque shots. It came from the entire roster, too. Aaron Wiggins hit on a few big-time outside buckets. Meanwhile, Obi Toppin emerged as a hot scorer.
Once Mathurin fouled out in the opening seconds, the Thunder took advantage. Wiggins and Gilgeous-Alexander gave the Thunder some breathing room. Up 132-128, they kept their distance the rest of the way. The Pacers’ unreal shot-making ran out. Gilgeous-Alexander sealed it at the free-throw line.
The Thunder shot 45% from the field and went 10-of-35 (28.6%) from 3. They shot 45-of-51 on free throws. They had 17 assists on 43 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with a historic 55 points. Mitchell scored a career-high 26 points. Wiggins stepped up with 23 points. Chet Holmgren had a 15-point double-double.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 44% from the field and went 13-of-43 (30.2%) from 3. They shot 30-of-40 on free throws. They had 21 assists on 46 baskets. Five Pacers players scored double-digit points.
Mathurin had 36 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 15-of-17 on free throws. Siakam had 32 points and 15 rebounds. Toppin finished with 20 points and five rebounds. Ben Sheppard tallied 15 points and eight rebounds. Jabari Walker scored 13 points.
Can’t complain too much about a win, but the Thunder have had a weird start to their 2025-26 regular season. Two 2OT wins, where Gilgeous-Alexander cosplayed as Superman have had shades of concern. It’s not the utter dominance that normalized last season. Then again, Williams’ absence, along with others, can easily explain that away.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Advertisement
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Oct 23, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Seeing Taelon Peter defend him in transition, Gilgeous-Alexander had fun with the rookie in his NBA debut. He hunched over and utilized him as a shield on his drive to the basket. Sheppard tried for the steal before quickly moving out of the way. The reigning MVP had an easy layup.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a career-best 55 points on 15-of-31 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists. He shot 2-of-7 from 3 and went a career-high 23-of-26 on free throws. He also had two steals and one block.
It was his fifth career 50-point performance. They’ve all happened since the start of the last season. We’re witnessing one of the greatest scorers in NBA history make the half-century mark look relatively easy. Indiana had no answer to slow down the MVP.
Advertisement
Gilgeous-Alexander was just on another level from the jump. He sliced through Indiana’s defense. Drives to the basket resulted in either free layups or free throws. The Pacers went in wanting to apply full pressure. They quickly realized how bad that plan was without the defensive personnel to make it work.
After three quarters, Gilgeous-Alexander had 29 points. Maybe he’d get to 40 if everything went right. Little did people know he’d finish with the most points he has scored in a single game. He had 40 at the end of regulation. A driving layup and free-throw trip helped OKC force overtime.
In the two overtime periods, Gilgeous-Alexander put on his Superman cape once again. He carried the Thunder to the finish line with 15 points. Some big-time buckets helped them stay in it as the Pacers tried to put it away with unreal shot-making by committee.
As the Pacers held onto their last hopes, Gilgeous-Alexander passed his previous career-high 54 points by a single point. He was given several free-throw trips down the stretch. The 26 attempts will surely be the biggest talking point. They’ve already trended all over social media. But considering both teams shot 40-plus free throws, that’s a reflection on the officiating crew.
Advertisement
Just an unreal performance by Gilgeous-Alexander. If he hopes to win back-to-back MVPs, he couldn’t have dreamed of a better start. A 55-point performance in the second game of the season certainly puts him on the map early on. He’s figured the NBA out and added another highlight reel to his Hall-of-Fame career.
Ajay Mitchell: A-plus
Oct 23, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Lowering his head, Mitchell drove straight to the basket with force. He shouldered his way through Sheppard before a floater gently fell through for the impressive and-one bucket. The Thunder needed every point they could get in the overtime sessions. He stepped up for a career night.
Advertisement
Mitchell finished with a career-best 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting, four assists and three rebounds. He shot 0-of-3 from 3 and went 8-of-8 on free throws. He also had one steal.
With Williams and several other players out, somebody needed to step up. In came Mitchell. There’s been a lot of buzz around him this year. The added muscle helped him drive to the basket. His championship experience has helped slow the game down.
A busy night inside the paint helped Mitchell be OKC’s second-best scorer. The Pacers couldn’t slow him down either, as he looked like a mini-version of Gilgeous-Alexander. When the Thunder needed a bucket, he stepped up. Especially in the bench lineup minutes.
An unreal performance by Mitchell. If he cements his spot as one of the regular rotation players, this will be the fork-in-the-road moment. Breaking out the way he did gives the Thunder another option they can go to when they need a bucket.
Aaron Wiggins: A-plus
Oct 23, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Walking over to the top of the key, Wiggins was a few steps away from the midcourt logo. Didn’t matter. Gilgeous-Alexander still trusted his longtime teammate. He received the kick-out pass and calmly swished in a deep outside bucket. That was one of two deep jumpers that helped OKC survive the second overtime.
Advertisement
Wiggins finished with 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting and nine rebounds. He shot 5-of-9 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had one block.
It took a while to get going, but Wiggins provided a much-needed scoring boost. They surrendered Cason Wallace’s defense for his shot-making. A strong 18-point second half helped the Thunder survive a back-and-forth affair as he matched Indiana’s role players going off.
Battling an outside drought, Wiggins was the consistent variable. The Thunder desperately needed it. He hit on some unreal catch-and-shoot looks to keep up on the scoreboard. Just shows how ridiculously deep they are that they can rely on their bench player to step up as a 20-point scorer.
Chet Holmgren: C
Oct 23, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
The classic Jekyll and Hyde performance, Holmgren couldn’t repeat his Opening Night dominance — at least on the offensive end. With Williams still out, the Thunder needed him to be their consistent second scorer. Instead, it was another game where he faded into the background.
Advertisement
Holmgren finished with 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting, 12 rebounds and two assists. He shot 0-of-6 from 3 and went 7-of-8 on free throws. He also had two steals.
The shot-hunting aggressiveness comes and goes with Holmgren. That’s been part of his basketball nature since he became a household name. You hope this year he can break away from that trait, but this was a game where he simplified his scoring to mostly dunks and second-chance looks.
The outside jumper not falling didn’t help. It feels like Holmgren is a rhythm scorer. You can tell within the first five minutes of a game what he’ll likely end up with. This was on the complete opposite side of what he did against the Houston Rockets.
Also, a little weird Holmgren hasn’t recorded a block yet this season through 78 minutes. He’s matched up against jumper-happy Alperen Sengun and Siakam, but feels like the timing on his swats has been a second off. The Thunder will need that to eventually self-correct. After all, it’s his bread and butter.
Highlights:
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: SGA leads Thunder to 141-135 2OT win over Pacers