Andrew Nembhard, Jarace Walker help short-handed Pacers outlast Thunder 117-114 in Finals rematch

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Andrew Nembhard had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Jarace Walker added a career-high 26 for the Indiana Pacers, who withstood a late rally to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-114 on Friday night in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals.

Walker, whose previous high was 21 points, sank four free throws in the final 10 seconds to lift injury-riddled Indiana (11-35), which snapped a three-game skid. Pascal Siakam added 21 points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 47 points for the NBA-best Thunder, who were also depleted by injuries with Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso among those sidelined. Chet Holmgren added 25 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

It was the second and final meeting this season between the Pacers and Thunder, whose fortunes have diverged since Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton tore an Achilles tendon early in Game 7 of last season's NBA finals. Oklahoma City went on to win its first title and has the league's best record (37-9), although the Thunder have slowed after a 24-1 start.

Oklahoma City trailed 113-103 with 2:35 remaining but pulled within 115-114 on a pair of free throws by Gilgeous-Alexander with 7.8 seconds left. After two free throws by Walker, the Thunder's Isaiah Joe missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, made 17 of 28 field goals and all 12 free throws, and he scored nine points in the final 2 minutes.

The Pacers were missing Bennedict Mathurin (thumb), Obi Toppin (ankle) and Quenton Jackson (ankle).

Nembhard scored eight points in the first quarter and eight more in the second. His 3-pointer gave Indiana a 47-30 advantage. But Oklahoma City chipped away with a 23-11 run that featured two 3s by Cason Wallace to get within 58-53 at halftime.

Pacers: Visit the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

Thunder: Host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, front left, gestures to Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drives the ball against the Indiana Pacers during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Indiana Pacers guard/forward Andrew Nembhard drives against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) celebrates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker gestures during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Washington Post publisher Will Lewis said Saturday that he’s stepping down, ending a troubled tenure three days after the newspaper said that it was laying off one-third of its staff.

Lewis announced his departure in a two-paragraph email to the newspaper's staff, saying that after two years of transformation, “now is the right time for me to step aside.” The Post's chief financial officer, Jeff D'Onofrio, was appointed temporary publisher.

Neither Lewis nor the newspaper's billionaire owner Jeff Bezos participated in the meeting with staff members announcing the layoffs on Wednesday. While anticipated, the cutbacks were deeper than expected, resulting in the shutdown of the Post's renowned sports section, the elimination of its photography staff and sharp reductions in personnel responsible for coverage of metropolitan Washington and overseas.

They came on top of widespread talent defections in recent years at the newspaper, which lost tens of thousands of subscribers following Bezos' order late in the 2024 presidential campaign pulling back from a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris, and a subsequent reorienting of its opinion section in a more conservative direction.

Martin Baron, the Post’s first editor under Bezos, condemned his former boss this week for attempting to curry favor with President Donald Trump and called what has happened at the newspaper “a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.”

The British-born Lewis was a former top executive at The Wall Street Journal before taking over at The Post in January 2024. His tenure has been rocky from the start, marked by layoffs and a failed reorganization plan that led to the departure of former top editor Sally Buzbee.

His initial choice to take over for Buzbee, Robert Winnett, withdrew from the job after ethical questions were raised about both he and Lewis' actions while working in England. They including paying for information that produced major stories, actions that would be considered unethical in American journalism. The current executive editor, Matt Murray, took over shortly thereafter.

Lewis didn't endear himself to Washington Post journalists with blunt talk about their work, at one point saying in a staff meeting that they needed to make changes because not enough people were reading their work.

This week's layoffs have led to some calls for Bezos to either increase his investment in The Post or sell it to someone who will take a more active role. Lewis, in his note, praised Bezos: “The institution could not have had a better owner,” he said.

“During my tenure, difficult decisions have been taken in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post so it can for many years ahead publish high-quality nonpartisan news to millions of customers each day,” Lewis said.

The Washington Post Guild, the union representing staff members, called Lewis' exit long overdue.

“His legacy will be the attempted destruction of a great American journalism institution,” the Guild said in a statement. “But it’s not too late to save The Post. Jeff Bezos must immediately rescind these layoffs or sell the paper to someone willing to invest in its future.”

Bezos did not mention Lewis in a statement saying D'Onofrio and his team are positioned to lead The Post into “an exciting and thriving next chapter.”

“The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity,” Bezos said. “Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus.”

D'Onofrio, who joined the paper last June after jobs at the digital ad management company Raptive, Google, Zagat and Major League Baseball, said in a note to staff that "we are ending a hard week of change with more change.

“This is a challenging time across all media organizations, and The Post is unfortunately no exception,” he wrote. “I've had the privilege of helping chart the course of disrupters and cultural stalwarts alike. All faced economic headwinds in changing industry landscapes, and we rose to meet those moments. I have no doubt we will do just that, together.”

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

Protesters outside of the Washington Post office demonstrate following a mass layoff, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Protesters outside of the Washington Post office demonstrate following a mass layoff, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

A protester holds a cutout of Jeff Bezos' face outside of the Washington Post office following a mass layoff, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)