Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers 

On Friday, the Indiana Pacers will host the Oklahoma City Thunder at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Arena in an attempt to record their sixth consecutive victory.

OKC will go into this game hoping to defeat the hosts and earn a fourth straight victory since their heartbreaking 2024 NBA Cup final loss, as they had lost each of their previous three regular-season encounters.

The Indiana Pacers defeated the Golden State Warriors in a late comeback attempt to win 111-105 at Chase Center on Christmas Eve, capping off their three-game road trip in spectacular fashion.

Stephen Curry had an uncharacteristically off night, hitting just 2 of his 13 shots. But Jonathan Kuminga came off the bench to light things up, scoring a season-high 26 points and briefly giving the Warriors a two-point lead in the fourth quarter after trailing by 12 earlier in the game.

Unfortunately for Golden State, Myles Turner stole the spotlight with 23 points, including a clutch three-pointer late in the game that pushed Indiana’s lead to five and sealed their second win over the Warriors since March.

With this Boxing Day victory, the Pacers have strung together five straight wins — their first such streak since January. Impressively, four of those wins came on the road, a sharp turnaround after losing five of their previous six games.

Thanks to this hot streak, Rick Carlisle’s squad has climbed to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings with a .500 record, sitting at 15 wins and 15 losses after 30 games.

In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Washington Wizards 123-105 in a landslide victory at the Paycom Center on Boxing Day, securing their position atop the conference power rankings.

The game was back and forth between the two teams, with OKC ahead by just four points going into the fourth quarter. However, the Wizards went on a 2-19 run to begin the fourth quarter, which resulted in their 21st loss in 23 games and their 12th away from home.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made headlines at the Paycom Center with a 41-point performance on 56% shooting, his second 40-point performance of the season, and a perfect 10 of 10 from the foul line, even though Jordan Poole scored 31 points for the Wizards.

Following their 97-81 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in last Wednesday's NBA Cup final, the Thunder have won three straight games and have won eight of their previous nine appearances since December 4.

With one game remaining, Mark Daigneault's team has improved to a 23-5 record, three wins ahead of the Houston Rockets in second place, and the lead in the Western Conference standings.

Oklahoma will face a team that has won all three of their previous regular-season meetings, including a 126–112 triumph on April 6, even though they are looking for their fifth straight away win.
James Wiseman, a center with the Indiana Pacers, is still sidelined for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery in October for an Achilles issue.

The 22-year-old forward, Isaiah Jackson, is also expected to miss the season as he continues his arduous journey to full health after suffering a torn Achilles back in November.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are still without a number of players throughout the spine of the club due to the continued absences of key forward Chet Holmgren (hip), Adam Flagler (metacarpal), and Nikola Topic (ACL).

Alex Caruso is doubtful with an injury that drove him into the locker room during the Wizards game's fourth quarter, and Alex Ducas is out with a back issue.