The Thunder is again in a hole.
Indiana overwhelmed OKC in the fourth to pull away for a crucial 116-107 victory Wednesday night in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Pacers lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 set for Friday night.
OKC actually had a five-point lead going into the final period.
Then the Pacers’ offense caught fire.
Tyrese Haliburton hit a 3-pointer to take a 101-98 lead. Later, Myles Turner made a layup, Andrew Nembhard followed with a jumper and Obi Toppin made a put-back dunk over Lu Dort. The Pacers led 107-100 with 4:23 left, and it took a span of 75 seconds.
From there, the Thunder never caught up.
Jalen Williams led OKC with 26 points, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 — his first NBA Finals game without reaching 30 — and had eight rebounds and four assists. Chet Holmgren had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points off the bench. Haliburton added 22 points and 11 assists, while Pascal Siakam had 21 points.
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The turnovers (particularly the inbounds passes). The late offense. The missed FTs down the stretch. Allowing Indy to make so many hustle plays late. And I can’t stress this enough — the turnovers. That’s a game OKC handily lost in the fourth quarter. Indy leads the series 2-1.
That sequence just can’t happen in the fourth quarter of a Finals game. The turnover off Indy’s denial, the McConnell fake and second-chance Nembhard jumper, McConnell leaping to snatch the inbound pass and score. Can’t happen.
—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer
Former Colts punter and current ESPN personality Pat McAfee is in the house.
The Thunder had done a solid job containing Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton through the first two games of the series.
But in Game 3, Haliburton has finally broken through.
By the end of the third quarter, Haliburton had poured in a series-high 19 points, along with eight assists and five rebounds, helping to keep Indiana in the fight despite trailing by five heading into the final frame.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has stepped up in response for the Thunder. He leads OKC with 21 points — nine of which came in the third quarter — while also tallying seven rebounds and four assists. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren have provided strong support, contributing 20 and 18 points, respectively.
Lu Dort has been a factor from deep, knocking down his fourth three-pointer of the night. The Thunder are shooting an impressive 10-for-18 from beyond the arc, helping them maintain a narrow edge heading into the final 12 minutes.
—Jordan Davis, Staff writer
Indiana Fever stars Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard are courtside supporting their in-town basketball counterparts.
Lu Dort is 4-for-4 on 3-pointers tonight.
The Pacers put together arguably their most prolonged stretch of good basketball during these NBA Finals.
And they still only go into halftime leading by four points.
Indiana outscored Oklahoma City 40-28 in the second quarter and led by as many as seven points, its largest lead so far in the finals.
The Thunder hit just 9 of 20 shots in the quarter but made up for it by getting to the free-throw line nine times. It hit seven of those free shots. But it goes into halftime with nine turnovers, which is limiting OKC’s possessions.
Indiana had no turnovers in the second quarter.
The Pacers also hit 14 of 23 shots.
The difference maker?
Indiana reserve TJ McConnell is a thorn in the Thunder’s side. While he only has six points, he has three steals and four assists. The Pacers have outscored the Thunder when he’s on the court by 13 points.
—Jenni Carlson, Columnist
3:10 left in 2Q: Pacers 51, Thunder 51 | OKC withstands Indiana run
Pacers had their largest lead of the series at 7 after that Haliburton floater. 9-2 Thunder run since to tie things up.
7:27 left in 2Q: Pacers 39, Thunder 36 | Indiana has rare lead in NBA Finals
Thunder this quarter: 4 points, 1 for 8, 2/2 FTs, 3 TOs. TJ McConnell this quarter: 2 points, four assists, three steals. Pacers winning the first 4:33 of the 2Q 15-4.
9:19 left in 2Q: Thunder 36, Pacers 35 | TJ McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin fuel Indiana rally
Not an ideal start to the 2Q for OKC. Getting pressured into turnovers on the inbounds. Mostly being kept out of its stuff in the half court. TJ McConnell is fired up with the Thunder lead down to 36-35.
—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer
End of first quarter: Thunder 32, Pacers 24 | Chet Holmgren stood out right away
Standing at 7-foot-1, Chet Holmgren is naturally hard to miss.
He should be even harder for opposing defenses to miss when he’s in an offensive rhythm, like he was in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game. And yet Holmgren managed to go undetected on a fastbreak at the 5:41 mark.
Alex Caruso drew a crowd as he attacked the rim, and he skipped a pass to an open Holmgren. The big man then cruised to the cup for a two-handed dunk.
Holmgren set the tone for OKC. He scored 13 points in the first quarter on 4-for-5 shooting from the field (80%) to help his team claim a 32-24 lead.
—Justin Martinez, Staff writer
4:50 left in 1Q: Thunder 19, Pacers 14 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander yet to score
SGA is 0-for-3 from the field, but OKC still leads.
7:35 left in 1Q: Thunder 15, Pacers 6 | Chet Holmgren off to hot start
Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams look really good running the show off the dribble early.
If you want an idea of what Chet has meant defensively to this series, just look at how he blew up that fast break with Siakam.
Holmgren has eight points.
—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer
Same Thunder starters tonight as the rest of the series, with Cason Wallace in the starting lineup.
OKC goes with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.
Indiana goes with Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner.
Rick Carlisle didn’t want to talk strategy in his pregame availability Wednesday, but the Pacers coach was happy to reflect on what it means to have the NBA Finals back in Indianapolis.
There’s a saying around here: In 49 states, it’s just basketball. But this is Indiana.
“There’s a wholesome historic element to it,” Carlisle said. “Certainly the movie ‘Hoosiers’ is one thing. But IU basketball with Coach Knight all those years. Butler with the runs that they’ve had over the years when Brad Stevens was the coach there. The Pacers have great history. Great, rich history going back to the ABA days where they won three championships.
“There’s a lot of pride in it. It’s meaningful.”
The Pacers are hosting an NBA Finals game for the first time since June 16, 2000.
—Joe Mussatto, Columnist
These NBA Finals have forced the Thunder to win — and lead — against the never-too-far-behind-Pacers in different ways.
Turnovers, and points off of them, haven’t mattered. Not the way they did for so many of Oklahoma City’s regular season wins. Coach Mark Daigneault, understanding of Indiana’s identity, is OK with that.
“If we try to overdo that, we can throw us off kilter,” Daigneault said. “So we just stick with our stuff, you know, try to be disruptive, be hard to play against. Sometimes that yields turnovers, sometimes that yields tough shots. Sometimes that gets teams going deeper into the shot clock.
“Whatever it is, we don’t care. We just want to try to get stops and however they come, they come.”
—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer
What time is Thunder vs Pacers game today in NBA Finals?
- Date: Wednesday, June 11
- Time: 7:30 p.m. CT
- Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
The Thunder vs Pacers game starts at 7:30 p.m. CT Wednesday from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Where to watch Thunder vs Pacers Game 3 in NBA Finals
The Thunder vs Pacers game will be broadcast on ABC. It can be streamed on Fubo and ESPN+.
All times are Central
Thunder vs Pacers odds in NBA Finals Game 3
Odds via BetMGM as of Tuesday, June 10
Odds: Thunder by 5.5
Over/under: 228.5
Moneyline: OKC -220 | Indiana +180
Thunder vs Pacers predictions, expert picks for NBA Finals Game 3
Justin Martinez: OKC 119, Indiana 113
Aside from the final few minutes of Game 1, OKC has clearly been the better team throughout this series. Its disruptive defense has caused problems for Indiana, and Tyrese Haliburton has been constantly harassed by elite defenders. Meanwhile, the Pacers have had no answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He scored 72 combined points in the first two games, which is the most points ever scored by a player in his first two career NBA Finals games. Of course, it’ll be harder to win on the road than at home. But OKC seems to have found a winning formula in this series, and I’m picking it to win Game 3.
Oklahoma City has not won an NBA championship, but the Seattle Supersonics won the 1979 title. The franchise relocated to OKC before the 2008 season.
How many Finals have the Pacers won?
Indiana has not won an NBA championship, but the Pacers twice won the ABA championship (1972-73).
- Games: 76
- Points: 32.7 per game
- Rebounds: 5.0 per game
- Assists: 6.4 per game
- Steals: 1.7 per game
- Blocks: 1.0 per game
- Field-goal shooting: 51.9%
- 3-point shooting: 37.5%
- Free-throw shooting: 89.8%
- Games: 73
- Points: 18.6 per game
- Rebounds: 3.5 per game
- Assists: 9.2 per game
- Steals: 1.4 per game
- Blocks: 0.7 per game
- Field-goal shooting: 47.3%
- 3-point shooting: 38.8%
- Free-throw shooting: 85.1%
Thunder vs Pacers highlights in NBA Finals Game 3
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