Pacers Edge Thunder 117-114 As Daigneault Credits Tenacious Indiana For Win

Indiana Pacers held off a fierce late surge from Oklahoma City Thunder to claim a 117-114 road win in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals, with Andrew Nembhard and Jarace Walker leading an injury-depleted lineup that kept Oklahoma City chasing from the opening minutes.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 47 points and almost forced overtime, yet Indiana answered every push. Gilgeous-Alexander cut the deficit to one with 7.8 seconds left, but Isaiah Joe missed a corner three that would have extended the game, allowing the Pacers to finally close it out.

Nembhard produced 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Walker set a new career high with 26 points, surpassing the previous mark of 21. Indiana opened fast, putting up 39 points in the first quarter,

and Walker calmly hit four free throws in the final 10 seconds to secure the result for an injury-hit Pacers group.

Oklahoma City Thunder also entered the NBA Finals rematch short-handed against the Indiana Pacers. Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso were among the unavailable players, which forced deeper rotation changes for head coach Mark Daigneault, whose team have followed a different path since winning a first NBA title last season.

Daigneault accepted that Indiana deserved the victory, stressing how the early hole shaped the contest. "They made plays. Credit them. They made enough plays, he said of the Pacers. Zooming out, the lesson is: when you're in a deficit like that, that's what a deficit does to you. "

Final from OKC pic.twitter.com/PT5kvhkYIHOKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 24, 2026

Daigneault expanded on how chasing from behind affected Oklahoma City Thunder during the defeat to the Indiana Pacers in this NBA Finals repeat matchup. "It really limits your margin for error for the rest of the game. It doesn't mean you can't come back and win. It's a 48-minute game. It was obviously a winnable game for us. But when you go down that much in the first half, it takes a lot of effort to get back in, and then, it comes down to a play here or there, and obviously, they were more than two plays better than us. "

The head coach still highlighted Oklahoma City Thunder effort levels against the Indiana Pacers, reflecting on stretches that resembled last season's NBA Finals run. "The fight and then the competitiveness of the team was great, Daigneault added. I thought we played really well despite it not being a very good shooting night. We played well enough to win for 36 minutes in the 48, and credit them, they played for 48, and they held us off when we tried to get back into it multiple times. "

The result showed how Indiana Pacers, despite injuries, handled key moments better than Oklahoma City Thunder in this NBA Finals rematch, converting early scoring bursts and late free throws, while Oklahoma City needed heavy minutes and shot-making from Gilgeous-Alexander yet could not convert the final look that might have extended a tight contest.