Andrew Nembhard produced 27 points and 11 assists to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 117-114 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals.
Nembhard was one of three Pacers with 20 or more points as Indiana snapped a three-game losing streak.
Jarace Walker added 26 and Pascal Siakam 21 as the Pacers improved to 3-19 on the road.
The Thunder fell for just the second time in nine games despite getting 47 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Pacers led by as many as 17 and stretched their advantage back to 12 with five minutes remaining. They were still up by 10 with just over than two minutes remaining.
However, Oklahoma City wasn’t done yet, cutting the deficit to one with 24.3 seconds left with a 9-0 run — all from Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.
Walker hit all four of his foul shots in the closing seconds.
Isaiah Joe missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt with three seconds remaining, sealing the victory for the Pacers.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 17 of 28 from the floor and 12 of 12 from the free-throw line.
Holmgren added 25 points and 13 rebounds for Oklahoma City.
Indiana has been short-handed all season, especially with Tyrese Haliburton tearing his right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the Finals in the Pacers’ last visit to Oklahoma City.
The Thunder were short-handed on Friday, playing without Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell and Aaron Wiggins.
The Pacers jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter thanks to a pair of quick eight-point runs.
During the second, which put Indiana up 35-24, Walker hit a pair of 3-pointers to help the Pacers extend the lead back out after Oklahoma City cut the deficit to three.
The Thunder missed six of their first seven shots in the second quarter as the Pacers extended their lead to 17.
Late in the quarter, Oklahoma City used a 17-4 run that included a pair of 3-pointers from Cason Wallace.to cut the deficit to four before Indiana took a 58-53 lead into the break.
After hitting six first-quarter 3-pointers, the Pacers were just 2 of 10 from beyond the arc in the second.
–Field Level Media
