The Indiana Pacers had the lead late in Game 4, but the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to even the series at 2-2 with a 111-104 win on June 13.
Late in the game, Bennedict Mathurin missed three critical free throws for the Pacers. Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Tyrese Haliburton had 18 points and seven assists.
Here is Dustin Dopirak’s quick story and the box score from the game. We’ll have more coverage soon.
Dustin Dopirak is your best Pacers follow, and get IndyStar’s Pacers coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Pacers Update newsletter.
0:23.1 left 4Q: The Thunder took a four-point lead with two Shai Gilgeous-Alexander free throws at 0:44.0. Myles Turner missed a 3-pointer, but Indiana got the rebound. Bennedict Mathurin missed two free throws for the Pacers with 0:23.1 left.
Thunder 107, Pacers 103
2:21 left 4Q: Tyrese Haliburton made a basket at 3:20. Pacers up by four. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cut the lead to one with a 3-pointer at 2:58. Gilgeous-Alexander made another basket at 2:23.
Thunder 104, Pacers 103
3:52 left 4Q: Chet Holmgren threw down a dunk at 8:37. Alex Caruso’s free throw tied the game at 89-89. Tyrese Haliburton answered with a basket, but Jalen Williams responded with a basket of his own.
Andrew Nembhard gave the Pacers a 93-91 lead at 6:59 with a jumper. Myles Turner made back-to-back free throws at 6:09. Williams tied it at 95-95.
Haliburton broke the tie at 5:03 with a basket. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander responded with a basket of his own at 4:38. Haliburton went to the free-throw line and made both attempts.
Pacers 100, Thunder 97
9:28 left 4Q: The Thunder opened the fourth quarter on a 6-2 run.
Pacers 89, Thunder 86
End of 3Q: Tyrese Haliburton extended the lead to 82-73, but Alex Caruso’s 3 made it 82-76. At the end of the third quarter, Jalen Williams made a shot to cut it to eight.
Pacers 87, Thunder 80
4:11 left 3Q: Andrew Nembhard hit a 3-pointer at 6:24 to give Indiana a 74-66 lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander answered with two free throws. Gilgeous-Alexander followed that with a 13-foot shot. Alex Caruso scored at 4:57 to cut the lead to two.
But Obi Toppin drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Pacers some breathing room.
Pacers 80, Thunder 72
7:16 left 3Q: Myles Turner made an 18-foot jumper at 8:07. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander answered with a basket at 7:50. Pascal Siakam drilled a 3-pointer at 7:18. Indiana has outscored OKC so far in the third quarter, 11-7
Pacers 71, Thunder 64
Halftime: Pascal Siakam made a basket to tie it at 55-55. Tyrese Haliburton’s shot at 0:28.1 gave Indiana the lead. Alex Caruso fouled Haliburton on the play. He made the free throw.
Pacres 60, Thunder 57
3:19 left 2Q: Obi Toppin was called for a flagrant foul for knocking over Alex Caruso as he was going up for a layup. Isaiah Hartenstein got into a scuffle with Toppin after the play. Hartenstein was called for a technical foul.
Down 51-45, Aaron Nesmith drilled a 3 at 4:11.
Thunder 53, Pacers 50
6:35 left 2Q: Ben Sheppard drilled a 3 at 9:15 to give Indiana a 43-40 lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander responded with a jumper. Alex Caruso’s layup at 8:17 gave the Thunder a 44-43 lead. T.J. McConnell gave the Pacers the lead back with a layup. Kenrich Williams gave the Thunder the lead back with a shot.
Thunder 46, Pacers 45
End of 1Q: Jalen Williams leads the Thunder with 12 points. Pascal Siakam has 10 points and Myles Turner has six points.
Pacers 35, Thunder 34
1:02 left 1Q: Pascal Siakam threw down a dunk for Indiana. He has a team-high 10 points and four steals. The Pacers are shooting 56% from the floor. OKC is shooting 53%.
Pacers 31, Thunder 30
4:40 left 1Q: Obi Toppin scored four straight for the Pacers, but Jalen Williams rattled off four straight of his own for the Thunder. Williams added to that with two free throws at 5:05. Luguentz Dort tied it at 24-24 with a 3-pointer at 4:43.
Pacers 24, Thunder 24
7:01 left 1Q: Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith and Tyrese Haliburton hit 3-pointers to start the game for the Pacers. Andrew Nembhard added to that with a 3 of his own at 7:02.
Pacers 20, Thunder 12
Isaiah Hartenstein will get his first start in the NBA Finals.
(*-if necessary; all games are ET and on ABC)
- Game 1: Pacers 111, Thunder 110
- Game 2: Thunder 123, Pacers 107
- Game 3: Pacers 116, Thunder 107
- Game 4, Fri., June 13: at Pacers, 8:30 p.m.
- Game 5, Mon., June 16: at Thunder, 8:30 p.m.
- *-Game 6, Thurs., June 19: at Pacers, 8:30 p.m.
- *-Game 7, Sun., June 22: at Thunder, 8 p.m.
via BetMGM
Game 4 favorite: Thunder by 6.5 points
Over/under: 228.5 total points
Moneyline: Pacers +195, Thunder -235
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Thunder a 52% chance of winning.
TV: ABC, with Mike Breen (play-by-play), Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson (analysis)
93.5 and 107.5 FM in Indianapolis, with Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analysis) and Pat Boylan (sideline reporting). Game 4 streaming is on SiriusXM channels 81 (Thunder feed) and 86.
Game 4, Fri., June 13: Thunder at Pacers, 8:30 p.m.
Dustin Dopirak, IndyStar: Pacers 117-110
“The Pacers haven’t lost consecutive games this postseason; neither have the Thunder. Winning two straight hasn’t happened in this series, but the Pacers have their chance now. They’ve found solutions for the Thunder’s swarming defense, and they wore down the Thunder in Wednesday’s fourth quarter. Now they have a huge homecourt advantage with Indianapolis ignited by hosting the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years. The Pacers own a 2-1 series edge and they’re 3-0 in Game 4s this postseason. If they win this one, they put themselves on the brink of their first NBA title. Here’s saying they do it.”
