How unlikely was the Indiana Pacers‘ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, Jan. 23?
The defending NBA champions were 16.5-point favorites at home against last season’s runner-up, which has been decimated by injuries throughout this season.
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After Indiana’s 117-114 victory, the Pacers (10-33) still had one of the league’s worst records and the Thunder (37-9) the best.
It was the NBA’s most unlikely upset in a decade and one of the biggest regular-season upsets in league history.
Andrew Nembhard had 27 points and 11 assists, Jarace Walker a career-high 26 points and Pascal Siakam 21 as the Pacers — who led by 17 points in the second quarter — held off a late Thunder rally.
OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 47 points and Chet Holmgren added 25 with 13 rebounds.
‘Revenge game’: Pacers stun Thunder at scene of Game 7, injury
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Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered an Achilles injury in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals in Oklahoma City, did not attend this game because he wants to be playing the next time he visits OKC.
“Tyrese Haliburton Revenge Game, man,” Andrew Nembhard said postgame. “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.”
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Pacers pull off huge NBA upset over Oklahoma City Thunder