(PACERS RELEASE)
The 2026-27 Pacers season officially tips off on Wednesday night in New Orleans, where Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers will take on Zion Williamson and the Pelicans in the regular season opener for both teams.
Haliburton missed the entire 2025-26 season after tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, but he is back on the court looking like his old self. Haliburton played in three of four preseason games for Indiana, tallying 48 points and 15 assists while going 19-for-36 (52.8 percent) from the field and 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) from 3-point range. He scored 24 points in just 17 minutes last Tuesday in Oklahoma City and followed that up with 17 points and six assists in 20 minutes in Friday’s preseason finale against Milwaukee.
With Haliburton back in the fold, the Pacers have ambitions of another deep playoff run. Indiana has a pair of All-Stars in Haliburton and Pascal Siakam along with much of the core from the team that captured the 2025 Eastern Conference crown, including Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin, T.J. McConnell, Jarace Walker, and Ben Sheppard.
The Blue & Gold have also added some key pieces to that core group, headlined by 7-foot Croatian center Ivica Zubac. Indiana acquired Zubac from the Clippers last year at the trade deadline, though injuries limited him to just five games last season. But he’s looked strong in the preseason, recording double-doubles before halftime in each of the last two exhibitions.
The Pacers also signed veteran wing Kelly Oubre Jr. this summer. The 11-year veteran has a career scoring average of 13.3 points per game and effectively replaces Bennedict Mathurin — who was part of the trade last February for Zubac — in the bench-scoring, sixth-man role on the Indiana bench.
Mathurin is now in New Orleans after signing with the Pelicans this summer in free agency. The sixth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Mathurin averaged 16.1 points and 4.7 rebounds over 237 games in Indiana.
Mathurin joins a Pelicans roster that features a couple former All-Stars in Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray and some other nice young pieces. 26-year-old Trey Murphy III led New Orleans in scoring last year at 21.5 points per game, while both of the Pelicans’ 2026 first-round picks — Jeremiah Fears (14.3 points and 3.4 assists per game) and Derrik Queen (11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest) — showed promise.
Probable Starters
Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Andrew Nembhard, F – Aaron Nesmith, F – Pascal Siakam, C – Ivica Zubac
Pelicans: G – Dejounte Murray, G – Trey Murphy III, F – Herbert Jones, F – Zion Williamson, C – Ives Missi
Injury Report
Pacers: TBA
Pelicans: TBA
Last Meeting
Jan. 16, 2026: Jay Huff set a new career high and T.J. McConnell became the second player in NBA history to amass 3,000 career assists off the bench as the Pacers bested the Pelicans 127-119 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to complete a 3-1 homestand and pick up their fourth victory in their last five games.
Huff led all scorers with 29 points in the victory — seven more than his previous career best — going 13-for-17 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range while also tallying nine rebounds and three blocks.
Pascal Siakam scored 20 of his 27 points in the first half and also registered six boards and five assists, while Andrew Nembhard finished with 19 points and 10 assists.
The Pelicans led 33-28 late in the first quarter, when McConnell drove and dished to Jarace Walker, who swished a three on the right wing. It was McConnell’s second assist of the night and his 3,000th in his career when coming off the bench, making him just the second player in NBA history to amass that many assists as a reserve (Lou Williams was the first).
“[I’m] just very grateful, very blessed to be in this position,” McConnell said about reaching the milestone. “To be in year 11, and I mean Lou Williams, when you think about guys that come off the bench, him and Jamal Crawford, [Manu] Ginobili, are the guys you really think about. So to even be mentioned with people like that, it’s an honor.”
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 27 points, going 10-for-12 from the field and 7-for-10 from the free throw line while also collecting six rebounds and seven assists. Trey Murphy III added 22 points and five assists while going 5-for-14 from beyond the arc, while Saddiq Bey scored 20.
Noteworthy
The Pacers have lost their last five games in New Orleans. Indiana’s last road victory over the Pelicans was an overtime win on Jan. 4, 2021.
Both of Indiana’s 2026 free agent signings have ties to New Orleans. Oubre was born in New Orleans and lived there until he was nine, while big man Larry Nance Jr. played in 135 games for the Pelicans from 2022-24.
Siakam has scored in double figures in 72 straight games, a streak that stretches back to March 22, 2025. That is tied for the fifth-longest double-digit scoring streak in franchise history.
Broadcast Information (Where to Watch and Listen to Pacers Games >>)
TV: DAZN – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (studio host)
Tickets
The Pacers will take the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the first time in the regular season when they host Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks for Opening Night presented by Kroger on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7:00 PM ET.
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