Thunder’s Mark Daigneault breaks down ugly start vs. Pacers

OKLAHOMA CITY — Despite Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 47 points amidst an 18-point comeback, coach Mark Daigneault and the defending champions came up short in its Finals rematch against the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers defeated the Thunder 117-114 at the Paycom Center.

After the loss, Daigneault tipped his cap to the Pacers for their tenacious approach that kept the Thunder trailing after its only lead of the night — 2-0 — in the first minute of the opening frame.

“They made plays. Credit them. They made enough plays. Zooming out, the lesson is: when you’re in a deficit like that, that’s what a deficit does to you. It really limits your margin for error for the rest of the game. It doesn’t mean you can’t come back and win. It’s a 48-minute game. It was obviously a winnable game for us tonight.

“But when you go down that much in the first half, it takes a lot of effort to get back in, and then, it comes down to a play here or there, and obviously, they were more than two plays better than us tonight.”

Mark Daigneault on the Pacers’ late/game execution: “The lesson is when you’re in a deficit like that… It really limits your margin for error for the rest of the game.

Doesn’t mean you can’t come back and win… that was obviously a winnable game for us tonight” pic.twitter.com/VGDpWDeIx0

— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) January 24, 2026

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder pulled to within one (115-114) with 7.8 seconds left, but came up short in the end.

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