The Pacers will likely have to contend with a crowd that will be rooting for the Spurs in both games. With Victor Wembanyama playing in his home country, most fans will be rooting for him and San Antonio. Indiana still feels good about their chances to win both games. They have been playing too well not to be filled with a ton of confidence.

Haliburton and Clark have become fast friends, both complimenting the other on multiple occasions. Haliburton went as far as to say in Paris on Wednesday, on the eve of the first of two San Antonio-Indiana matchups here, that she's become a face of the game.

"We're going to throw everything we got at him just try do what we can go get a win," said Turner. "They are a tightknit group. They are guys who grind and hustle, so you know, we have to kind of match that intensity and supersede that.

Indiana's Rick Carlisle has coached more games against San Antonio's Gregg Popovich than anyone else. They've had 87 head-to-head matchups, including playoffs.

Fans from at least 53 countries have bought tickets for the Spurs-Pacers games in Paris, a record for any league event.

The main events start Thursday when Wembanyama and the Spurs take on the Indiana Pacers in the first of two games in Paris. The rematch is Saturday, both happening at Accor Arena, the same building where Wembanyama played in the knockout round of the Paris Olympics last summer when he and France wound up losing to the U.S. in the gold-medal game.