INDIANAPOLIS — Coming off a thrilling seven-game NBA Finals series in late June, the Indiana Pacers will face a familiar foe in their first game of the upcoming NBA season.

NBA officials announced on Tuesday that the Pacers will host the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 in a rematch of the NBA Finals series. This game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which is scheduled to air on ESPN, will kick off the Pacers' 2025-26 NBA season.

The reigning Eastern Conference champions lost in the NBA Finals in a series of dramatic games, including Game 7, when Tyrese Haliburton, a point guard for the Indiana Pacers, tore his right Achilles. According to previous reports, Haliburton is not expected to play during the 2025-26 season.

Since the last game of the 2024-25 season, the Indiana Pacers a

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