Pacers Notebook: A busy week and emotions pour out after second straight win
A look at the Pacers’ improvement, Jay Huff’s rise, Johnny Furphy’s status, a schedule update, Steph Curry wearing Haliburton’s signature shoe, Oladipo’s return to Indiana & more from a packed week
Good evening from downtown Indianapolis — where they weren’t kidding about this winter storm. I looked out my window hours before another Pacers home game, and the snow had just started to come down.
By late evening, a white blanket had already covered the area.
It’s been a busy week for this team, having just completed another back-to-back. More than that, it was four games in six days and three in four nights. One big contrast from the 9-to-5 world: when most people get days off, those who work in sports go into overdrive. Sports fill those gaps.
In addition to covering the Pacers, Boom, and Fever, I also do a lot of broadcasting. So on Friday, before the Pacers hosted the Wizards, I was on the sideline at Lucas Oil Stadium for two high school football state title games.
First, Pioneer vs. South Putnam in 1A, then Fort Wayne Bishop Luers vs. Cascade in 3A. It’s a fun gig I look forward to every year on the day after Thanksgiving. I was on the statewide IHSAA radio network; Pat Boylan and Jeremiah Johnson were part of the TV broadcast for 1A.
It’s a football-filled three days for workers at the stadium — three games on Friday, three on Saturday, then Colts v. Texans on Sunday.
Downtown Indy will be the place to be next Saturday, especially for IU fans.
The 7-0 IU men’s basketball team hosts Louisville at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 2 p.m., then the undefeated (12-0) IU football team plays Ohio State in the Big Ten title game over at Lucas Oil Stadium at 8 p.m.
I’m looking forward to taking in the double-header.
Pacers Win Two In A Row…
Following the first month of the season, in which the Pacers went 2-14, they returned home to begin a favorable stretch of games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
They opened a stretch of eight of 11 home games Monday against the East-leading Pistons and are now in the midst of a four-game homestand. A win over the Wizards, 119-86, was much-needed — both for team morale and because the Wizards just aren’t good.
Then, they followed that up with a 103-101 win over the Bulls on Saturday. Pascal Siakam sank a 14-foot jumper from the right wing over two defenders with 0.1 seconds left.
“This is why you have max players, to put the ball in their hands in those kind of situations,” head coach Rick Carlisle said postgame. “… That was really an amazingly difficult shot that he made look relatively easy.”
And then the team was overjoyed with bottled-up emotion. Tyrese Haliburton was the first to Siakam and poured water on him, then the whole team surrounded Siakam in celebration. They needed to feel this, to feel something.
The last month, losing 16 of their first 18 games was not easy on them.
Injuries impacted their season before it even began. I’m not even thinking about Haliburton, but instead the other handful of players who suffered preseason injuries. Now, they’re slowly getting healthy again.
With Andrew Nembhard sitting out Friday’s game with a quad contusion, T.J. McConnell had a big game off the bench: 14 points, four rebounds, and eight assists in just 19 minutes. Siakam (24) and Bennedict Mathurin (20) both scored 20+ points.
Over the last three games, it’s been the defense that has stood out most as they’ve held opponents to 97, 86, and 101 points. Even in a five-point loss to the Pistons, it went down to the very end. It’s no longer a run of double-digit loss like we saw a month ago.
They gave up 123.9 points per game (25th) over the first 16 games. Now, in four games this past week: 101.5, which is No. 1.
They’ve gotten healthier, made improvements, and bought into the defensive end. Success at that end typically bleeds into their offense.
Through 20 games, the Pacers have used 13 different starting lineups. Players are still adjusting to their role, new lineups, and playing without Haliburton. Offseason acquisition Jay Huff continues to make huge strides.
Huff, who started in the last two games, made his first five shots on Saturday and outscored the Chicago Bulls by himself, 14-9. He did not score the rest of the night, but that burst, in less than four minutes, set the tone for the game.
And then in the fourth quarter, he delivered three huge blocks — including a crucial one that was overturned from goaltending — in the final minutes.
“He’s done a good job and as this has gone along,” Carlisle said pregame, “he’s gotten a feel for how we play and certainly, we’ve adjusted some things.”
Huff has now reached double figures in four straight games, his numbers growing with his confidence. He also leads the NBA in total blocks with 45 and in blocks per minute (4.57).
“We always knew that we were better than we were playing, which was the most frustrating part of it,” Huff said. “It’s one thing if we don’t have a lot of confidence that we’re a good team. We knew we were a good team. There were frustrating injuries and just trying to get a rhythm, figure out changes that needed to be made. But we knew that we were gonna get there.”
The Pacers will enjoy Sunday off, then turn their attention to the Cavs and Nuggets for two more home games on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
“We’re still in adjustment mode, but there’s some good things happening,” added Carlisle.
Steve … From the North Side
Team owner and alternate governor Steve Simon called into “The World’s Greatest Postgame Show” with Eddie White and had this to say about the team after the win over the Bulls:
“The fans have been great,” he said. “This team, we’ve suffered injury after injury but we fight and claw and work hard every night. We’re getting guys back and we’re starting to play well and the fans have been great — and they’ve always been great. We’re lucky to have them. It’s hard when you get off to a rough start. There’s a lot of games to go, but the fans have been great as always.”
Furphy Practices With Boom
The Pacers assigned second-round guard Johnny Furphy to the Boom on Saturday for practice at Ascension St. Vincent Center. There haven’t been many Pacers practices lately due to their game schedule, so this was a good opportunity for him to continue making progress toward a return after being out since Nov. 3 with a left ankle sprain.
“My understanding is that it went well,” Carlisle said. “I’m not certain whether he’ll play a game with them or not. He’s been doing a lot of things to get back up to speed so we’ll see.
There’s no timetable for his return, but he’s getting closer.
Pacers’ Full 2025-26 Schedule Now Complete
The Pacers did not make it past Group Play in the third annual NBA Cup. That you knew. And now we know the other two games, to make 82, that were not finalized when the NBA schedule was released in August.
The 22 teams that did not advance to the Knockout Round learned of the two additional games early Saturday. For the Pacers…
Friday, Dec. 12 at 76ers | 7 ET
Sunday, Dec. 14 v Wizards | 3 ET
I’m told those two games will air locally on FanDuel Sports Network Indiana.
Steph Curry Wears Haliburton’s Hali 1 Signature Shoes On Launch Day
Tyrese Haliburton debuted his first signature shoe — the Hali 1 — in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He hit the game-winning shot, then placed his new shoes atop the table as he answered questions from reporters — a moment seen in video and photos by hundreds of thousands.
It was too perfect, better than anything that could have been scripted.
The Hibiscus colorway of his shoe, designed by Salehe Bembury, went on sale Nov. 26. Although Haliburton is sidelined for the season because of a torn Achilles suffered in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, a boost from a friend should help sales.
Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry recently became a sneaker free agent, amicably parting ways with Under Armour despite previously signing a lifetime deal. For the first time in more than a decade, he can wear whatever shoes he wants — and he’s enjoying the freedom.
Curry was captured on camera carrying a pink shoe box into Chase Center, and he wore Haliburton’s shoe during warmups on launch day. That alone would have been a coup for Haliburton and his PUMA sneaker. To top it off, Curry wore the Hali 1 in Wednesday night’s game — a nationally televised broadcast on ESPN.
Curry and Haliburton are both slender point guards who didn’t attend major basketball powerhouses — Curry at Davidson, Haliburton at Iowa State — yet surpassed expectations and eventually became friends on the 2024 U.S. Olympic team that won gold in Paris.
Haliburton remained a Nike athlete through the Olympics, then hit free agency. Instead of re-signing with a brand he admired and had long been loyal to, he valued PUMA’s pursuit and the opportunity to have his hand in creating a signature shoe.
He signed with the brand in October 2024, ahead of a roller-coaster season that ended in the 2025 NBA Finals. One year later, his nitrofoam sneaker with enhanced grip is available for $130 in stores and online.
Curry’s gesture — wearing his friend’s shoe on launch day — gave Haliburton’s signature line an added boost. Haliburton noticed and appreciated it, retweeting a post of Curry in the Hali 1s on Wednesday night after the Pacers’ narrow 97–95 loss in Toronto.
Oladipo Back In Indy
Former IU and Pacers guard Victor Oladipo was courtside at The Fieldhouse on Saturday. He’s in town because his team, the Wisconsin Herd of the G League, plays the Noblesville Boom on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
He remains determined to work his way back to the NBA after injuries have kept him out the past two years — most significantly, a re-tear of his right quad tendon that required a second surgery.
During the NBA preseason, he played for the Guangzhou Loong-Lions — as did former Pacers forward Justin Holiday.
I’m expecting plenty of IU fans to make the trip to Noblesville to see Oladipo, assuming word has gotten out about the game. I’m doing my part here.
“It will be amazing,” Boom head coach Tom Hankins told Fieldhouse Files. “We should have a great crowd to welcome him back. My first year and a half with the Pacers was with Vic and so I kind of got to know him a little bit. Great guy, obviously. Super excited to have him come back to play in Indiana.”
If you can’t make it to this one, the Herd will be back in a few weeks: Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.
In five games with the Herd, Oladipo is averaging 14.8 points on 44% shooting, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.
Checking In On Kyle Guy & Team USA
Kyle Guy has been away from the Boom for more than a week, first for Team USA training camp and now game action in Managua, Nicaragua — part of FIBA Men’s World Cup Qualifying.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for him,” Hankins said. “It’s one of those things you can’t turn down if they ask you to do it, especially in his position. So we wish him the best. Hope he goes up there and he will — he’ll do very well. He’s obviously a very good player, but also really bright, experienced. The coaching side of it helped him even more to become better.”
Guy finished with 11 points and two rebounds in 15 minutes as Team USA handled Nicaragua 102-67. They led most of the way and got 40 points from the bench in the win.
MarJon Beauchamp led them with 24 points and ex-Pacer Torrey Craig added nine points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 26 minutes.
These two teams will play again in Atlanta on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.
In Case You Missed It — a recap from their first win of the season last week.