4 Takeaways From the Pacers' Preseason Loss to the Thunder

Tyrese Haliburton scored 24 points in 18 minutes Tuesday night at Paycom Center. It was his first game in Oklahoma City since he tore his right Achilles tendon there in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

The Indiana Pacers lost the preseason game to the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-112 in overtime and fell to 1-2 in exhibition play. Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac sat out the entire second half.

Indiana was already short. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle rested Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Jarace Walker, FOX59 reported, and T.J. McConnell was also out. Ben Sheppard started alongside Haliburton.

Zubac fed Haliburton for the first basket, a 14-foot pull-up at the 10:00 mark of the first quarter. Next came a 26-footer, also from Zubac, and then a 34-footer 24 seconds later off a pass from Kelly Oubre Jr.

The Thunder took a timeout at 7:37 trailing 14-7. By 7:14 of the second quarter, an Oubre 3-pointer had pushed the lead to 52-32.

Haliburton shot 9-of-14, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and made 2 of his 3 free throws. One of his 2 blocks erased an Isaiah Hartenstein floater in the first quarter. The other came on an Alex Caruso drive with 6.5 seconds left in the half.

He also had 3 rebounds and 3 assists. He turned it over 4 times.

In Game 7 on June 22, 2025, he scored 9 points in the opening seven minutes before going down.

On Jan. 23, the Pacers won 117-114 in Oklahoma City with Haliburton not on the trip. He was not ready to go back yet, he told Taylor Rooks of Prime Video.

Getting game reps mattered to him Tuesday. So did getting the first trip back over with.

"I thought I would feel maybe a little more emotion coming in here," Haliburton told The Oklahoman.

Saturday, against the Atlanta Hawks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, he did not play. The injury happened in the Oct. 7 opener at Iowa State. Carlisle called it "a mild tweak of the right ankle", and he said the MRI looked good. Monday's practice was a full one for Haliburton, Circle City Spin reported.

Indiana beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 123-112 in that opener at Hilton Coliseum. Haliburton played 16 minutes, all in the first half, and had 7 points and 6 assists on 3-of-8 shooting.

Each practice and each game is supposed to leave Haliburton stronger and better conditioned, Carlisle said.

"He just came and played his game, and he was Tyrese Haliburton," Carlisle said, according to FOX59.

Zubac finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists, all in the first half. He shot 6-of-7, and 5 of his rebounds came on the offensive end.

He also had 3 steals. Hartenstein, the Thunder's starting center, went 0-of-3 in 12 minutes.

Tuesday made two games together for the pair. The Pacers traded for Zubac with the LA Clippers last season, a 19-63 year in Indiana. He got into five games after the deal. Zubac is by far the best screener of his career, Haliburton said last week.

Larry Nance Jr. again worked as the backup center and scored 5 points. Jay Huff made 3 3-pointers in the third quarter and finished with 11 points and 3 rebounds on 4-of-7 shooting.

Siakam went 2-of-11 from the field and 0-of-4 from 3-point range. He finished with 6 points and 4 assists.

Indiana took a 61-59 lead into halftime. Oklahoma City outscored Indiana 26-23 in the third and led 85-84 after three.

In the third and fourth quarters, by Circle City Spin's count, Indiana turned it over 18 times and made 14 of 40 shots.

Oubre put up 12 points and 5 rebounds, and Kobe Brown had 10 points and 5 rebounds.

Brown tied the game on a layup with 5.6 seconds left in regulation. He missed the free throw that would have given Indiana the lead.

Rienk Mast and Keba Keita, both on Exhibit 10 contracts, made shots for Indiana in the extra period.

Zhaire Smith scored 7 points in overtime for Oklahoma City. His 19-foot pull-up with 45.6 seconds left put the Thunder ahead 114-112, and Braden Smith missed a shot to tie it at the buzzer.

Jared McCain led the Thunder with 20 points off the bench and made 6-of-12 3-pointers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 15 points and 6 assists. Oklahoma City is 1-3 in the preseason.

Friday's preseason finale against the Milwaukee Bucks tips off at 7 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Indiana opens the regular season at New Orleans on Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. ET. Two nights later, the Dallas Mavericks visit for the home opener.