The Indiana Pacers had their third preseason game of the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Tyrese Haliburton made his return to action after missing Saturday’s home game against the Hawks.
It was as competitive as an exhibition game as you could have hoped for, and the Thunder pulled out the 114-112 victory in overtime.
For the Pacers, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker and T.J. McConnell were held out of the game, making the Pacers guard depth considerably weak. It forced Rick Carlisle to play much bigger lineups early into the game, but it gave us a longer look at Haliburton, Siakam and Zubac.
It was an electrifying first half that carried all the way into an overtime finish.
Here are three takeaways from the Pacers preseason matchup against the Thunder.
Haliburton Heater
Making his return to the Paycom Center for the first time since tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Haliburton picked up right where he left off.
He went a perfect 4/4 from the field for 11 points, and added a block and an assist in the first quarter. His first points came off a Zubac screen on the baseline. The amount of space Zubac opened up for him on the screen made the pull-up 14-footer look easy.
Haliburton buried his first three of the game off a Zubac assist from 26-feet. He followed that up with a 34-foot three-point shot from a Kelly Oubre Jr. pass. His last made three came from 24-feet off another Zubac dish before he was subbed out with about 5 minutes left in the quarter.
The starters were subbed back into the game to start the second, and Haliburton more than doubled his first quarter shot attempts. He went 5-10 from the field for 13 points, added 3 rebounds, distributed 2 assists and had a terrific block on Alex Caruso in the final seconds of the half.
Haliburton played the entirety of the period and you could see how gassed he was by the end of it. His turnovers increased from one to four in this timeframe, but I thought it was a good challenge for him to play through.
This game showed us a few examples of how Haliburton has worked on strengthening his left hand while rehabbing from his injury. Notorious for driving to his right, seeing Haliburton finish multiple times with his opposite hand was a sign of growth for the 26-year-old guard.
Haliburton, along with Siakam and Zubac did not play in the second half. He finished the game with 24 points on 9-14 shooting (4-6 from 3), 3 assists, 4 turnovers, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and had a positive plus-minus of 11.
You couldn’t ask for a better showing from a player in his second game back after missing 16 months.
Big Zu’s Best Game Yet
If you had any concerns about how Big Zu is going to fit into this Pacers’ system, tonight should have calmed your nerves.
Zubac was impactful in several ways tonight. However, there were three things that stood out more than the rest: his screening (duh), his rebounding and his passing.
In 18 minutes of play, he finished with 13 points on 6-7 shooting, 13 rebounds (8 defensive, 5 offensive), 5 assists, 3 steals and had a positive plus-minus of 11. It was a dominant performance against Isaiah Hartenstein and Aday Mara.
His chemistry with Siakam was on display on multiple occasions. First, Siakam had the ball at the the left elbow and threw a perfect entry pass into the post where he eventually scored. Later. the two exchanged alley-oops to one another, highlighting how much more comfortable they’re getting with one another.
But Siakam wasn’t the only star who furthered their chemistry with Zubac, he also connected early and often with Haliburton.
Early in the second quarter, Zubac received a pass from Haliburton after executing the pick-and-roll. Zubac caught the ball just inside the free throw line and flipped in a floating jump shot. It was one of those funky looking shots we’ve seen Zubac attempt before, but rarely have we seen it from that far out.
In addition to the scoring, the amount of space that Zubac was freeing up for his teammates was huge. He set a terrific off-ball screen for Haliburton to get free, and it allowed for him to bury a deep three. These two were in sync all night long and gave us a lot to look forward to in the future.
Jalen Slawson Continues to Impress
For the first time this preseason, Slawson was awarded with first half minutes and he took advantage of it.
He plays at 100-miles an hour no matter when he enters the game, but his relentless work ethic gives you a mixed bag of memorable highlight plays, bad decisions and multiple fouls.
Two minutes after he checked into the game, he had a nasty block on Kenrich Williams at the rim. He pinned the ball against the backboard and saved the Pacers two points. He followed that play by getting a steal on Jalen Williams and it led to an Obi Toppin two in transition.
Offensively, he still has a ways to go, but he’s taken steps since his arrival last summer. It’s his defense and hustle that make him so easy to root for. Hopefully another season in Indiana can help him land a spot on a 15-man roster.
You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.
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