After a 4-game road trip, the Oklahoma City Thunder is back home for the first time in 11 days, hosting the Indiana Pacers. OKC sits atop the NBA standings with the best record by far, but the Pacers have struggled all season long, and they are currently at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference. This game should have made for a fun Finals rematch, but the Pacers have struggled with long-term injuries to key players—namely Tyrese Haliburton—, and as a result, they have struggled to compete.
At this point, it feels like the Thunder is simply trying to make it to the All-Star Break so that guys can try to get healthy, but even with all of the missed games due to injury, OKC has found ways to win behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s efforts to repeat as MVP. Chet Holmgren has had a solid season, particularly on the defensive end, to the point that he’s worked his way into heavy consideration for All-Star honors.
Pascal Siakam has led the Pacers admirably through their struggles, averaging 23.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, and I’m sure he feels some type of way about losing to the Thunder in the Finals. OKC’s defense has been pretty incredible lately, and as bad as the Pacers have been all season long on the offensive end, it feels like the Thunder should be able to fly around, create chaos, and turn defense into offense.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: Fanduel Sports Network – Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Indiana Pacers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Aaron Wiggins
- PF: Jaylin Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Pacers
- PG: Andrew Nembhard
- SG: Johnny Furphy
- SF: Aaron Nesmith
- PF: Pascal Siakam
- C: Jay Huff
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (strained right adductor) is OUT
- Isaiah Hartenstein (strained right soleus) is OUT.
- Ajay Mitchell (strained abdominal) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Aaron Wiggins (right groin soreness) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (left glut contusion) is AVAILABLE.
Pacers
- Tyrese Haliburton (torn right Achilles tendon) is OUT.
- Quenton Jackson (sprained right ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Bennedict Mathurin (sprained right thumb) is OUT.
- Taelon Peter (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Ethan Thompson (G League — two-way) is PROBABLE.
- Obi Toppin (stress fracture in right foot) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 16-16 against the Pacers in the regular season (10-5 at home, 6-11 on the road) and 3-3 in the Playoffs (2-1 at home, 1-2 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Pacers 4 times, lost it 6 times, and tied 7 times.
- The Thunder won the season series 2-0 this season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder defeated the Pacers 4-3 in the NBA Finals last June (3-1 at home, 1-2 on the road).
- OKC is 1-0 against Indiana so far this season (0-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).