THUNDER WIRE - The Oklahoma City Thunder survived another thriller. This time, a 141-135 double overtime win over the Indiana Pacers. Make that two-for-two for the reigning NBA champions in playing beyond regulation.

“Just a gutsy win. Those guys were exhausted. So was Indiana. When we went down five in the first overtime, it was easy to say, ‘Hey, we’ll get the next one.’ These guys are just so competitive,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “I was just so impressed with the guts of the team.”

Talk about a stressful start to the season. Last season, the Thunder made NBA history in several ways. They set the league record for the largest point differential. Through two games, it’s been the opposite. They’re the first team ever to play two straight 2OT games to start their year.

As the Thunder were without Jalen Williams and several other role players, Gilgeous-Alexander had to step up with a career-high mark. Other role players also enjoyed the additional possessions that went their way. In a game where neither side led by more than seven points, it was always a close contest.

Playing their opener, the Pacers were out for some revenge and the Thunder fell in a 25-22 deficit after the first quarter.

Afterward, the Thunder got into a groove. They scored 32 points in the second frame. Gilgeous-Alexander had 21 points at the break. Ajay Mitchell stepped up with 10 points. Keep that in mind for the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Pascal Siakam was Indiana’s top scorer with 14 points. He’s their undisputed best player this season. The Thunder had a 54-47 halftime lead.

Usually, the third quarter is when the Thunder have put games to bed. Or at least, that was the case last season. But the Pacers flipped the script. Bennedict Mathurin turned into a microwave scorer. Indiana scored 35 points in the frame. OKC’s lead was cut to 81-78 after the third quarter. We were on our way to another stressful ending.

It took less than five minutes into the final frame before the Pacers retook the lead. Siakam’s outside jumper put Indiana up 95-94 with a little over seven minutes left.

From that point on, the Thunder and Pacers seesawed the lead. One unreal jumper after another. After Gilgeous-Alexander put OKC up 113-111 with 13 seconds left, Siakam’s pull-up jumper tied it up. After Gilgeous-Alexander badly missed a potential outside bucket, the buzzer sounded. Five more minutes to go.

The first overtime period saw plenty of scores. Mitchell stepped up. He had a huge driving and-one play that floated in. After Gilgeous-Alexander scored a step back jumper to give the Thunder a 124-122 lead with 27 seconds left, Mathurin needed little time to match him with a driving layup.

Tied at 124 points, we headed to a second overtime. If you thought teams would struggle with fatigue at this point, think again. The Thunder and Pacers exchanged 2K-esque shots. It came from the entire roster, too. Aaron Wiggins hit on a few big-time outside buckets. Meanwhile, Obi Toppin emerged as a hot scorer.

Once Mathurin fouled out in the opening seconds, the Thunder took advantage. Wiggins and Gilgeous-Alexander gave the Thunder some breathing room with back-to-back buckets. Up 132-128, they kept their distance the rest of the way. The Pacers’ unreal shot-making ran out. Gilgeous-Alexander sealed it at the free-throw line after a few intentional fouls.

The Thunder shot 45% from the field and went 10-of-35 (28.6%) from 3. They shot 45-of-51 on free throws. They had 17 assists on 43 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with a historic 55 points.