The Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers match player stats from Friday, January 23rd, 2026, told the story of one of the most jaw-dropping upsets of the NBA season.
The Indiana Pacers — battered by injury, sitting at 10-35 on the year, and written off by virtually every pregame analyst — walked into Paycom Center in Oklahoma City and did the unthinkable, defeating the league’s best team 117-114 in a thrilling rematch of last season’s NBA Finals.
Andrew Nembhard had 27 points and 11 assists, while Jarace Walker added a career-high 26 for Indiana, who withstood a late Oklahoma City rally to seal the win on the road.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 47 points — the highest individual total of the game — shooting 60.7% from the field and a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line, one of his finest individual performances of the 2025-26 season.
It was a night that defied every pregame expectation, every advanced metric, and a 15.5-point spread that firmly positioned Oklahoma City as the dominant force on the floor.
It was not enough.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers Match Player Stats: Full Box Score
The numbers from this game are staggering in their contrasts — one team’s superstar producing an all-time individual performance and still losing, while the visiting squad overcame three absent rotation players to deliver a collective masterclass.
Indiana Pacers — Full Player Stats
| Player | MIN | PTS | FG% | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Nembhard | 38 | 27 | — | Multiple | 1-2 FT | 11 | 11 | — | — | +16 |
| Jarace Walker | 34 | 26 | 53.3% | 3-6 | 7 att | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | +12 |
| Pascal Siakam | 35 | 21 | — | — | — | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | +8 |
| T.J. McConnell | 22 | 14 | — | — | — | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | +9 |
| Aaron Nesmith | 28 | 11 | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +4 |
| Ben Sheppard | 20 | 9 | — | 2-4 | — | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +3 |
| Johnny Furphy | 18 | 8 | — | 0-2 | — | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +2 |
| Isaiah Jackson | 12 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
| Micah Potter | 9 | 4 | 2-3 | 0-0 | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 |
| Jay Huff | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Total | — | 117 | — | — | 21-28 | 45 | 34 | — | — | — |
Oklahoma City Thunder — Full Player Stats
| Player | MIN | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 40 | 47 | 17-28 | 1-4 | 12-12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | -4 |
| Chet Holmgren | 35 | 25 | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -6 |
| Cason Wallace | 30 | 10 | — | 2-4 | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | -8 |
| Luguentz Dort | 28 | 8 | — | 0-6 | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -10 |
| Isaiah Joe | 22 | 7 | 2-7 | 0-5 | 3-3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +7 |
| Kenrich Williams | 20 | 6 | — | 0-2 | — | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -5 |
| Ousmane Dieng | 16 | 5 | — | 1-2 | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -3 |
| Jaylin Williams | 14 | 2 | — | 0-0 | — | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 |
| Branden Carlson | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -12 |
| Brooks Barnhizer | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| Team Total | — | 114 | — | — | — | 43 | 25 | — | — | — |
Quarter-by-Quarter Score
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Pacers | 39 | 19 | 29 | 30 | 117 |
| OKC Thunder | 28 | 25 | 25 | 36 | 114 |
The Game Story: Indiana’s Hot Start and Oklahoma City’s Furious Chase
The Pacers came out of the gates with ferocious intent on the evening of Friday, January 23rd, controlling the pace and knocking down threes at a blistering clip in the first quarter.
Indiana built a lead as large as 17 points, with Andrew Nembhard orchestrating from the point guard position and Jarace Walker attacking the paint and stepping back for mid-range jumpers with growing confidence.
The Thunder’s first-quarter struggles were not from lack of effort — Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 points in the first half alone — but Indiana’s team-wide execution at both ends was simply too sharp to allow OKC any sustained momentum.
Oklahoma City used a 23-11 second-quarter run to chip back from 17 down, with Cason Wallace providing crucial secondary scoring off drives and catch-and-shoot threes, and Chet Holmgren’s interior presence beginning to assert itself around the rim.
The Thunder trailed 58-53 at the half — a remarkable recovery, yet still a deficit that reflected Indiana’s superior ball movement and three-point accuracy through the first 24 minutes.
Nembhard and Walker: The Pacers’ Dynamic Duo in the Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers Match Player Stats
Andrew Nembhard was the single most important player on the floor all night, and his final stat line of 27 points and 11 assists with a plus-16 rating told only part of the story.
He made timely shot after timely shot — converting several deep three-pointers in critical moments — and his decision-making under defensive pressure was impeccable throughout the 40 minutes he played.
Every time Oklahoma City mounted a charge and threatened to overturn the deficit, Nembhard answered personally, either with a bucket or by finding an open teammate with precise passing that cut directly through Oklahoma City’s switching defensive schemes.
Jarace Walker, meanwhile, was a revelation in what became his best professional performance to date.
His 26 points on 53.3% shooting, including three made threes, demonstrated a level of offensive polish that had been glimpsed in flashes earlier in the season but had never quite materialised in a moment this large.
Walker also proved decisive in the closing seconds — sinking four consecutive free throws in the final ten seconds to extinguish Oklahoma City’s last attempt at a comeback and seal the road win for Indiana.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s Historic Night Falls Short
For Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Friday night in Oklahoma City represented a performance of rare individual brilliance that nonetheless ended in defeat — a combination that understandably generated significant discussion around the league in the hours that followed.
His 47-point output, converted on 17 of 28 field goal attempts and a flawless 12-of-12 from the charity stripe, stands as one of the more complete single-game scoring efforts produced during the 2025-26 regular season.
He scored nine of OKC’s final points in the last two minutes alone as the Thunder clawed to within 115-114 on a pair of free throws with just 7.8 seconds remaining on the clock.
That final sequence — Gilgeous-Alexander making his free throws, Walker responding with two of his own to push it to 117-114, and then Isaiah Joe’s potential tying three-pointer rimming out at the buzzer — was the defining moment of a game that swung between drama and disbelief throughout.
The Thunder’s injury absences were significant context: Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso all missed the game, removing key defenders and secondary ball-handlers from Mark Daigneault’s rotation.
Individual Performance Comparison
| Metric | SGA (OKC) | Nembhard (IND) | Walker (IND) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 47 | 27 | 26 |
| FG% | 60.7% | — | 53.3% |
| FT Made | 12-12 | — | 4 (clutch) |
| Assists | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| Rebounds | 5 | 11 | 6 |
| +/- | -4 | +16 | +12 |
Team Comparison
| Stat Category | Indiana Pacers | OKC Thunder |
|---|---|---|
| Final Score | 117 | 114 |
| Field Goal % | — | — |
| 3PT % | 42.1% | — |
| Free Throws | 21-28 | — |
| Total Rebounds | 45 | 43 |
| Total Assists | 34 | 25 |
| Turnovers | — | — |
| Largest Lead | 17 | 2 |
Section Summary
- The Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers match player stats confirmed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 47-point masterclass as one of the season’s finest individual efforts — yet the Thunder still lost.
- Andrew Nembhard’s 27-point, 11-assist double-double was the decisive all-round performance of the contest, with a game-best plus-16 rating.
- Jarace Walker’s career-high 26 points, including four clutch free throws in the final ten seconds, was the margin of victory.
- Indiana built a 17-point first-quarter lead and responded to every Oklahoma City charge throughout the game’s four quarters.
- The Pacers snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory, improving to 11-35, while OKC fell to 37-9 on the season.
- Chet Holmgren’s 25-point, 13-rebound double-double went largely unrewarded, with the Thunder lacking enough secondary contributors to capitalise on the Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren efforts.
- Oklahoma City’s most damaging injury absences — Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso — left the roster thin on both defensive versatility and offensive depth at the worst possible time.