A 2025 NBA Championship banner was not hanging in the rafters of. Still, for three hours and 13 minutes on Oct. 23, it was June all over again.

The only thing missing was the Larry O’Brien championship trophy.

In a brutal sequel to the 2025 NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Indiana Pacers 141-135 in double overtime in the Pacers’ regular-season opener. The game, a rematch of a Finals series that ended only four months prior, carried the weight and intensity of a ‘Game 8,’ reopening fresh wounds for a Pacers team navigating a new reality.

“It feels like a playoff game in here,” said longtime Pacers fan Chris Karimu, who was in attendance for the multitude of postseason games last season. The energy from June had not dissipated even a little bit.

The Thunder (2-0) made

See Full Page