2025 Summer League

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Jordan Morey

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Game Recap: Pacers 113, Pelicans 104

The Indiana Pacers will return home from Las Vegas as winners.

In the Blue & Gold’s 2025 Summer League finale, the Pacers (3-2) dropped the New Orleans Pelicans (0-5), 113-104, at Cox Pavilion.

Indiana led at the end of every quarter in the victory, outshooting the Pelicans 48.8 to 46.1 percent. The Pacers went up by 11 points at halftime before blowing the game open in the third, leading by as many as 24 points in the period.

"This group was great to coach and be a part of," Pacers Summer League coach Isaac Yacob said. "This staff was great. The players coming in, working hard, and doing what's asked ... it's been a lot of fun."

Harvard product Robert Baker led the Pacers with 26 points and 10 rebounds, Phillip Wheeler added 19 points, RayJ Dennis supplied 15 points and 11 assists, and Enrique Freeman posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue & Gold.

Multiple Pacers players sat out of Friday’s game, including rookie Kam Jones, the 38th pick in this year’s draft, second-year forward Johnny Furphy, and two-way guard Quenton Jackson.

Jeremiah Fears, the seventh overall pick from Oklahoma, topped the Pelicans with 22 points and seven assists, Antonio Reaves had 18 points, and Keion Brooks Jr. finished with 16 points. Derik Queen, the 13th overall pick from Maryland, did not play for the Pelicans after recently undergoing wrist surgery.

A couple of Indiana scoring bursts in the second quarter helped the Pacers to a 56-45 halftime lead.

Wheeler had 12 points, Baker added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Dennis had nine points and eight assists at halftime.

Neither team led by more than four points in the first quarter, as the sides traded the lead 11 times.

Dennis hit two 3-pointers and had eight points while Wheeler also supplied eight points to help the Pacers go up 27-23.

Indiana used a 7-0 run early in the second quarter to get some distance, led by a 3-pointer from Creighton alum Steven Ashworth, before a 9-0 run, featuring five points by Keisi Tominaga, pushed the Pacers in front 47-37 with 3:30 on the clock.

In the final 54 seconds of the half, Baker hit a 3-pointer and converted a layup, and Freeman threw down a dunk off a perfect pass from Dennis, to help the Pacers go ahead by 11.

Indiana outscored New Orleans 32-22 in the third quarter, shooting 63.6 percent as a team, with Baker adding 14 points to his total, as the Pacers extended their lead to 88-67.

A 13-0 scoring streak by the Pacers, where Baker scored eight straight points, propelled the Pacers to a 76-54 lead midway through the third quarter. He later grabbed an offensive rebound at the buzzer and scored to put the Pacers up by 21.

In the fourth quarter, the Pacers cruised to the win despite a 16-3 Pelicans run to cut it to 13 points midway through the frame.

The final four teams vying for the Summer League championship are the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets. The semifinals will be held on Saturday before the title game on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

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Indiana Pacers Summer League Postgame Media Availability | July 18, 2025

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Game Rewind: Pacers 113, Pelicans 104 (Summer League)

Zach Sheley

Summer League Head Coach Isaac Yacob spoke with the media following Friday's win against the Pelicans.

Madie Chandler-Donahue

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Game Recap: Pacers 91, Knicks 88

The Indiana Pacers clashed with the New York Knicks on Thursday in a Summer League edition of one of the NBA’s most storied rivalries. Both summer squads are 1-2 in Las Vegas, but sought an opportunity to climb back to even with a win on Thursday afternoon. Indiana secured the victory, 91-88, as the Pacers held off a fierce comeback by the Knicks.

Quenton Jackson, RayJ Dennis, and Johnny Furphy did not play in the Pacers’ fourth game of Summer League. The vacancies created more opportunity for new draftees like Kam Jones and Taelon Peter to operate in expanded roles.

“With guys out, a lot of guys [were] stepping up today,” Summer League coach Isaac Yacob said. “Great opportunity for them, and I thought some guys took full advantage of it.”

By the 5:40 mark of the first quarter, Jones already recorded three assists. He penetrated the defense to get two feet into the paint frequently, and created an abundance of shot opportunities for his teammates.

Indiana used a 18-3 run in the second quarter to acquire a 14-point advantage over the Knicks behind Steven Ashworth’s spark of offense. Ashworth came off the Indiana bench to provide instant offense as he drained two 3-pointers and dished out multiple assists.

Jones and Enrique Freeman connected on the highlight play of the first half as Jones lofted a pass from a step within the 3-point line that Freeman slammed home at the rim. Jones connected with Peter for another dunk as the two tag-teamed a fastbreak.

“Most definitely, I knew I was going to throw it up to him,” Jones said. “I saw him running, you know, kind of made eye contact. And when I first got to Indy, and we were talking about basketball, he told me ‘I'm ready for the lob.’ So I told him, ‘I'm going to throw it.’”

Jones recorded nine points and six assists in the first half, and Ashworth did work from the lead guard position, too. Ashworth finished the half with six points and three assists, while Freeman was a game-high +18 with his 12 points and five rebounds.&nbsp;

“He had a little juice going against his former teammate,” Yacob said of Jones playing against Kolek, who is another Marquette product. “He was great. I'm seeing him get to the rim, creating and hitting shots, getting to the paint…all that stuff.”

The Pacers led, 52-38, at the close of the first half.

Peter opened the second half with a late-clock layup, then drew a foul on the following offensive possession.

New York went on a 13-5 run in the third quarter to cut Indiana’s lead back to single digits, 64-56, with three minutes remaining in the period. The Knicks would get within five points of the lead before Jones took over to close the third frame. Jones connected on two layups and an assist to Freeman to give the Pacers a 9-point cushion at the buzzer, 68-59.&nbsp;

The Knicks surged again, closing the gap to just four points when Keisei Tominaga drove hard to the rim. He was fouled and split the free throws to hold off the Knicks for another trip down the floor.&nbsp;

In the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, New York’s Tyler Kolek knocked down a jumper to tie the game at 85. The Knicks held the Pacers scoreless on the next trip down the floor, and it led to Kolek converting a layup through a foul to give New York a 2-point lead with under a minute to play.

Jones and Freeman ran a pick and roll, and Freeman finished at the rim to tie the game again at 88. After a defensive stop on the other end, Buddy Boeheim drew a foul, and made his first free throw. Boeheim missed the second, but Freeman gobbled up the rebound, got fouled, and converted his two free throws to give the Pacers a 3-point lead.

Indiana weathered the storm on the other end, giving a tough 3-point attempt to Kolek, to secure a 91-88 win over the Knicks.

Both Freeman and Jones finished with double-doubles. Jones led the way for the Pacers with 21 points, three rebounds, 11 assists, and just a single turnover. Freeman recorded 18 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists on 7-for-9 shooting.

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Indiana Pacers Summer League Postgame Media Availability | July 17, 2025

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Game Rewind: Pacers 91, Knicks 88 (Summer League)

Summer League head coach Isaac Yacob, Enrique Freeman and Kam Jones spoke with the media following Thursday's win against the Knicks.

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Game Recap: Bulls 114, Pacers 105

In a Summer League matchup between Central Division foes, the Chicago Bulls dropped the Indiana Pacers 114-105 on Monday in Las Vegas.

After leading by four points after three quarters, the Bulls (1-2) scored 29 points in the final frame to hold off any chance of a Pacers (1-2) comeback at Cox Pavilion.

All five Pacers starters scored in double figures in the loss. Pacers guard RayJ Dennis finished with 20 points and five assists, forward Enrique Freeman posted 17 points and 10 rebounds, rookie Kam Jones logged a personal-best 18 points and six assists, Phillip Wheeler chipped in 16 points, and Johnny Furphy recorded 15 points and six rebounds.

Chicago forward Matas Buzelis, an All-Rookie Second Team member last season, scored 28 points,&nbsp;while 6-foot-10 French rookie Noa Essengue added 21 points, Javon Freeman-Liberty scored 18 points, and Yuki Kawamura recorded 15 points and 10 assists off the bench.

Both teams shot 50 percent overall, with Indiana making 11 3-pointers to Chicago’s 10, but&nbsp;the Bulls finished 30-for-34 at the free-throw line while the Pacers made 22-of-25 at the stripe.

"We play hard, we play together, we play unselfish ... we just (haven't put together) 40 minutes yet," Pacers Summer League Coach Isaac Yacob said. "We shot 50/40/90 and scored enough points to win, we just can't give up 110 every night."

There were eight lead changes and six ties in the game, but the largest Pacers' largest lead was just two points.

Chicago attacked the rim early and often to build a 57-53 halftime lead.

Indiana outshot Chicago 53.1 to 45.9 percent in the first half, but the Bulls shot 19-for-21 from the free throw line while the Pacers went 12-for-13.

Rookies took over the game early, as Jones and Essengue scored 13 points each in the first half.

Essengue struck first, scoring 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting in the first quarter to help the Bulls to a 32-18 lead.

The Bulls built an early 16-8 lead on a 9-0 scoring spree before Furphy hit a 3-pointer and threw down a one-handed dunk to spark a 8-2 Pacers run and make it a one-possession game.

Following a Chicago timeout, with 2:57 on the clock, the Bulls bolted to a 14-0 run thanks to seven points by Essengue before Indiana rookie Taelon Peter ended the streak with a layup.

Jones then scored 11 points of his own in the second quarter to help the Pacers narrow the halftime margin to four points.

A trio of 3-pointers by the Pacers, including back-to-back triples from Jones, made it 38-31 before an 11-0 Pacers run – where Jones hit his third three of the quarter and Furphy slammed home a poster dunk over Essengue – tied the score at 44 with 3:21 left in the half.

"Kam is getting better every day, every game," Yacob said. "Trending in the right direction. Just keeps chipping away."

A Jahmir Young 3-pointer out of a timeout got the Bulls back on track, however, and Chicago didn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the half.

The score stayed within two possessions in the third quarter until a 11-2 Chicago run from 3:30 to 1:49, featuring five points by Buzelis, pushed the Bulls ahead 83-73.

Four straight points by Peter concluded the frame, but the Pacers trailed 85-81 heading into the final 10 minutes.

Emanuel Miller opened the fourth quarter with an and-one before Freeman-Liberty added five straight points to give the Bulls a 93-83 lead, and the Pacers never got closer than five points the rest of the game.

The Pacers will continue Summer League action on Thursday, July 17 when they take on the New York Knicks at 4:30 PM ET.

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Indiana Pacers Summer League Postgame Media Availability | July 14, 2025

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Game Rewind: Pacers 105, Bulls 114 (Summer League)

Summer League head coach Isaac Yacob and Enrique Freeman spoke with the media following Monday's game against the Bulls.

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Game Recap: Thunder 104, Pacers 85

Twenty days after the two teams played in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder met yet again.

Shooting 54 percent as a team, the Thunder (2-0) dealt the Pacers (1-1) their first Las Vegas Summer League loss of 2025 on Saturday by beating the Blue & Gold 104-85 at Cox Pavilion.

Harvard product Robert Baker topped the Pacers with 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting, second-year forward Enrique Freeman had 15 points and nine rebounds, rookie Taelon Peter scored a personal best 15 points, and Johnny Furphy had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Blue & Gold.

Chris Youngblood led the Thunder with 21 points, Brooks Barnhizer had 17 points and six steals, Jazian Gortman scored 17 points, and Malevy Leons posted 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Thunder converted 20 Pacers turnovers into 32 points while also holding Indiana to 40 percent shooting.

"Last game I felt like we started bad and ended up the aggressors at the end," Pacers Summer League coach Isaac Yacob said. "Today, we started on our toes .... it's just about how can we sustain it for a full 40 minutes."

Indiana two-way guard Quenton Jackson, who scored 24 points in the Pacers’ Summer League opener, didn’t play against the Thunder due to left leg soreness.

After starting the game 1-for-12 shooting from the field, the Thunder made 15 of their next 17 attempts to build a 52-38 halftime lead. Barnhizer shot 6-for-6 for 12 points to lead the Thunder in the first half while a trio of Pacers had seven points at the break.

Neither team could get much scoring done in the first quarter, with both teams shooting under 36 percent, but the Pacers led 16-14.

Indiana led 10-2 seven minutes into the game thanks to five points by Freeman and a stifling defense.

The Pacers maintained the lead the rest of the frame, but a 6-0 burst by the Thunder in the final 1:13 of the first quarter made it a one-possession game.

Shaking off the rough start, the Thunder shot 13-for-17 (76.5 percent) in the second quarter to go up by double digits.

Oklahoma City made its first nine shots of the second quarter, including five 3-pointers, to lead 41-26 with 4:33 left in the half.

Indiana finally got going later in the frame, as Phillip Wheeler scored seven points in the final five minutes of the half, and rookie Kam Jones, Furphy and Freeman each added baskets to cut it to 52-38 at the break.

The Thunder continued its hot shooting out of the locker room, starting the third quarter on a 13-4 run to go up 65-42.

Oklahoma City then led by as many as 26 points in the third quarter before taking a 19-point lead into the final frame.

The Pacers never went back in front in the fourth quarter as the Thunder held on for the win.

Saturday marked the first full Summer League game for Furphy -- a player to keep an eye on going into the 2025-26 season.. He played 29 minutes against the Thunder after an injury limited him to just one quarter of action in the Pacers' Summer League opener.

Furphy, coming off a rookie season where he appeared in 50 games for Indiana, could soon become a regular rotational player for the Pacers. The 6-foot-9 sharpshooter said he has put on around 20 pounds in the offseason, and last year's Finals run provided him with a wealth of experiences with his teammates.

"I've just got to keep working," Furphy said. "I'm pretty excited about where I can get to."

Indiana is back in Summer League action on Monday when they take on the Chicago Bulls at 6 p.m. ET.

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Indiana Pacers Summer League Postgame Media Availability | July 10, 2025

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Game Rewind: Pacers 85, Thunder 104 (Summer League)

Summer League head coach Isaac Yacob and Johnny Furphy spoke with the media after our 104-85 loss to the Thunder in our second Summer League matchup on Saturday.