Kelly Oubre Jr. Reveals How Pacers Prepared for Mexico City’s Extreme Altitude

There was a lot of running at the Indiana Pacers' practice Friday at Arena CDMX. Mexico City's average elevation is 7,350 feet. Denver, home of Saturday's opponent, the Denver Nuggets, is about 2,000 feet lower.

Indiana arrived Thursday afternoon, which gave the team two nights in the city before tip-off. Pacers.com reported that conditioning was a focus of the session.

"Practice was amazing," Kelly Oubre Jr. said. "Coach made it a point to open up our lungs, so we did some sprints, we did a lot of running, things to stay active and just kind of break in our bodies for this altitude. But at the end of the day, tomorrow's a beautiful opportunity for us to win a basketball game and play against a great team, and today was a good preparation for it."

Oubre found out about the altitude the hard way in 2019. He told Pacers.com it was "pretty gnarly" when he played here with the Phoenix Suns, and that he underestimated it.

"This is actually my second time playing in these Mexico City games," Oubre explained. "I played with the Suns probably like four or five years ago. It was electric. It was fun. I didn't prepare for the altitude, so I just jumped straight into it and had to quickly realize that I need some water."

"But at the end of the day, it's amazing and it's fun," Oubre continued. "And it's really open out here. Obviously, you can see the court, but you can look around and just see all the fans cheering, so it's going to be fun."

A left calf contusion has kept Oubre out of the last two games, and Indiana lists him as questionable. He said Friday that he will play.

Ivica Zubac sat out five games with a left ankle sprain before returning Wednesday in Memphis, where he started at center.

"It's tough," Zubac said. "It was already tough playing in Denver. So this being higher is definitely going to be something that we've got to think about, something that's going to bother us. But you've got to push through it and play through it, play hard. And that's it. You can't get around it."

Indiana lost both meetings with the Nuggets last season, including one in Denver. The Pacers go back to Ball Arena later this season.

Pascal Siakam is averaging 21.3 points through eight games. Saturday will be his first game in Mexico City.

"It was OK," Siakam said. "I think I might feel a little bit more in the game, but I felt a little bit. It's all right."

Aaron Nesmith got nine of his 16 points in transition in Wednesday's 107-103 win at Memphis. Indiana scored 18 fast-break points as a team that night.

"It's good to be here in Mexico, get used to the altitude, get some good food in," Nesmith said. "So it's been a good time so far."

Zubac joined Indiana at last season's trade deadline, and Oubre signed in July. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle does not expect the newcomers to change how Indiana plays.

"We have some different players," Carlisle said. "We have some different components. To me, our identity is the same. We talk about our identity: play hard, play fast, be tough-minded on defense. Those things I don't see changing anytime soon. It's a good group of guys. They value the word team."

Carlisle's two previous trips to Arena CDMX came with the Dallas Mavericks, and Dallas won both. Dallas topped the Phoenix Suns 113-108 there on Jan. 12, 2017. Nearly three years later, on Dec. 12, 2019, the Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 122-111.

The Nuggets last played Wednesday, a 128-109 home win over the Toronto Raptors in which Nikola Jokić had 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. It was his 201st career triple-double, and he is nine away from passing Russell Westbrook for the most in NBA history.

Denver has been to Mexico once before, for a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors in 2006.

Saturday's game starts at 4 p.m. local time, earlier than the 9 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. starts Carlisle remembered from his two Dallas trips. That is 5 p.m. ET, with NBA TV carrying the game nationally and DAZN carrying the Indiana broadcast.

T.J. McConnell is questionable with a right hamstring strain. Tyrese Haliburton is rehabbing a left hamstring strain back in Indianapolis, and Ben Sheppard and Johnny Furphy are also out.