{"id":206481,"date":"2025-10-12T02:23:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T02:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/206481\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T02:23:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T02:23:07","slug":"okc-thunder-drops-nba-preseason-game-against-indiana-pacers-3-takeaways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/206481\/","title":{"rendered":"OKC Thunder drops NBA preseason game against Indiana Pacers | 3 takeaways"},"content":{"rendered":"

The OKC Thunder<\/a> continued preseason play with a 116-101 road loss to the Indiana Pacers<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Here are three takeaways from the game:<\/p>\n

OKC Thunder schedule release 2025-26: See all 82 NBA games, dates for reigning champions<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ajay Mitchell, Isaiah Joe exit game with first-half injuries<\/p>\n

After missing OKC’s first three games due to a sprained ankle, Ajay Mitchell<\/a> made his preseason debut.<\/p>\n

The sophomore guard picked up where he left off following an All-Summer League second team selection<\/a> in July. He patiently dissected the Pacers’ defense, scored with great efficiency and created for others.<\/p>\n

Mitchell racked up 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor to go along with three assists, two steals and one block in only 15 minutes. But his dominant showing came to an end with 2:45 left until halftime when he rolled his left ankle. Mitchell limped off the floor with assistance and did not return.<\/p>\n

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An update on Mitchell’s injury has not yet been given, but it’s another blow to OKC’s backcourt depth. Nikola Topi\u0107 underwent a testicular procedure<\/a> on Oct. 6, and he’ll be re-evaluated sometime between Nov. 3-17.<\/p>\n

Isaiah Joe<\/a> also came up limping late in the first quarter with an apparent left knee injury. He checked out of the game and didn’t return either.<\/p>\n

More: OKC Thunder announces NBA training camp roster ahead of 2025-26 season: See the full list<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris Youngblood continues preseason push for OKC’s final two-way spot<\/p>\n

Even in Indiana, it’s football season.<\/p>\n

There’s excitement around the Indianapolis Colts<\/a>, who are 4-1 for the first time since 2013. There’s excitement around the No. 7-ranked Indiana Hoosiers<\/a>, who defeated the No. 2 Oregon Ducks<\/a> on Saturday afternoon to improve to 6-0.<\/p>\n

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But is there excitement around preseason basketball? Not so much. A look at the depleted crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which was rocking during the NBA Finals in June, would’ve told you that.<\/p>\n

Still, Saturday’s preseason game mattered to Chris Youngblood<\/a>. The undrafted guard is fighting for OKC’s final two-way contract, and he strengthened his case by scoring 25 points on 4-for-9 shooting from deep in 31 minutes off the bench.<\/p>\n

Youngblood has made the most of his opportunities this preseason on an OKC team that hasn’t played its usual contributors much. He’s averaging 14.5 points on 44.4% shooting from deep through four games.<\/p>\n

More: From parades to Germany, inside OKC Thunder championship summer with Larry O’Brien Trophy<\/a><\/p>\n

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Brooks Barnhizer dominates on the boards<\/p>\n

The 3-point shot will eventually go down for Youngblood.<\/p>\n

Nobody on the Thunder knows that as well as Brooks Barnhizer<\/a>, who has been playing alongside the fellow rookie for months dating back to Summer League. So when Youngblood missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final moments of Saturday’s contest, Barnhizer was there to grab the offensive rebound each time and give the ball back to him.<\/p>\n

The third try proved to be the charm, as Youngblood’s triple from the corner finally found the bottom of the net.<\/p>\n

Barnhizer dominated on the glass throughout the night. The 6-6 rookie racked up 11 rebounds to go along with 16 points, two steals and one assist.<\/p>\n

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Rebounding is one of the many strengths of Barnhizer, who continues to do it all for OKC this preseason. He’s a stout defender, a relentless rebounder for his size and an unselfish player.<\/p>\n

Justin Martinez covers sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X\/Twitter at\u00a0@Justintohoops. Sign up for the\u00a0Thunder Sports Minute newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a\u00a0digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More: Thunder rookie Chris Youngblood earns SGA shoutout, still has ‘business to take care of’<\/a><\/p>\n

Thunder vs. Bucks<\/p>\n

TIPOFF:\u00a07 p.m. Tuesday at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee (Peacock)<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder drops preseason game against Indiana Pacers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The OKC Thunder continued preseason play with a 116-101 road loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. Here…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[24610,100940,69106,49,48,100937,6442,2697,1732,100939,7670,459,51695,37983,82,100938,5406],"class_list":["post-206481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ajay-mitchell","tag-brooks-barnhizer","tag-bucks","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chris-youngblood","tag-indiana-hoosiers","tag-indiana-pacers","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-isaiah-joe","tag-milwaukee","tag-nba","tag-okc-thunder","tag-preseason-debut","tag-sports","tag-sprained-ankle","tag-summer-league"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}