The Indiana Pacers Take 2-1 Series Lead in the NBA Finals - Page 2

Source: Maddie Meyer / Getty

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – Bennedict Mathurin’s 27 points and Tyrese Haliburton’s double-double carry the Indiana Pacers to a 116-109 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

1. First Quarter

For the nineteenth consecutive playoff game, the Indiana Pacers starting lineup featured Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. As for the Oklahoma City Thunder, they ran it back with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren for a third consecutive game. In the first two games of the series, Indiana struggled with matching the intensity set by Oklahoma City to start games. Tonight, the Pacers fell behind early 15-6 after a dunk in transition by Holmgren. Indiana would eventually make it a two-point game when Haliburton connected on a triple, making it 22-20 with 3:01 left in the opening quarter. OKC immediately pushed its lead back to seven points and comfortably lead 32-24 after twelve minutes. Holmgren led all players with 13 points in the first quarter followed by Dort with 9 points. Indiana was led in scoring by Siakam with 7 points. Haliburton had a solid first quarter, recording 5 points on 2/3 shooting and 4 assists. Indiana turned the ball over six times, but OKC only scored two points off those turnovers.

2. Second Quarter

The Pacers really needed to get their sellout crowd into the game. The combination of T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin brought the Pacers back into the game and gave them their first lead in the second quarter of the NBA Finals. With 8:58 left in the half, two McConnell foul shots put Indiana on top 37-36 and then Mathurin extended it to three points on the following possession with a layup. Indiana’s run to start the second quarter was 15-4 in 3:42. The Thunder tied the game 42-42 with 6:28 left in the half when Isaiah Joe splashed a three. The Pacers responded with seven consecutive points to take a first half high seven-point lead when Haliburton converted a floater with 5:12 left. OKC would come back and take the lead, but Indiana did respond. At halftime, the Pacers had a 64-60 advantage. The Pacers outscored the Thunder 40-28 in the quarter. Mathurin led the way with 14 points in the quarter followed by Haliburton with 7 points. Jalen Williams paced the Thunder in scoring with 7 points in the quarter. The Pacers scored 18 points in the paint and 8 fast break points in the quarter. Mathurin led all players at intermission in scoring for the Pacers. In the second quarter, McConnell recorded 6 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Holmgren’s 15 points led all players in scoring. Haliburton was trending towards a double-double with 12 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds in the half.

3. Third Quarter

In games one and two, Indiana has had a ton of success in the second half versus Oklahoma City. The Thunder would have the Pacers number in the third quarter tonight. They started the half with eight straight points to take the lead back from the Pacers. Indiana responded with a 10-2 run to go back on top by four points when Haliburton forced a turnover and took the ball the other way for a dunk. Oklahoma City really ramped up its defensive pressure by holding Indiana to 10 points in the final 7:30. However, Indiana was also matching OKC’s defensive intensity. The final shot of the quarter really killed the energy in Gainbridge Fieldhouse because the three from Jalen Williams put the Thunder ahead 89-84 after three quarters. He and Gilgeous-Alexander led all players in scoring with 9 points in the quarter. As for Indiana, Haliburton’s 7 points were the most by a Pacer in the period. Indiana only shot 33% from the field and 1/9 (11.1%) from three-point range. Gilgeous-Alexander was leading all players with 21 points after three quarters. Indiana was paced by Haliburton with 19 points, 8 assists, and 5 boards. Mathurin and Siakam each had 17 points with a quarter left.

4. Fourth Quarter

Things did not start well in the fourth quarter for Indiana. The Pacers were struggling with getting any good looks offensively and taking care of the basketball. After a couple of minutes of trying to figure it out, the Pacers got a spark from McConnell. Caruso threw an inbound pass right to him for his fifth steal of the game, and then he tossed in the basketball to tie the game 95-95 with 8:33 remaining. Indiana was nursing a three-point lead for the next three minutes, and then Nembhard hit a step back jumper to make it a 105-100 game. Indiana got a stop defensively and then Haliburton missed a floater, but Toppin was right there to throw it down right off the miss. SGA came back with a free throw line jumper and then Nesmith delivered a corner triple to give the Pacers their largest lead of the game with 3:04 left in the game. The real dagger came with 1:09 left when Siakam pushed the Pacers lead back to eight points with a layup. OKC tried to make complete an improbable comeback like Indiana, but the Pacers would execute down the stretch. Indiana wins game three 116-107, taking a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals. Mathurin led the Pacers in scoring in the quarter with 10 points, but it was Turner’s defense with 3 blocks that was the difference maker.

5. Top Performers

Bennedict Mathurin (27p, 4r), Tyrese Haliburton (22p, 11a, 9r, 2s, 1b), Pascal Siakam (21p, 6r, 4a, 2s, 1b), and T.J. McConnell (10p, 5a, 5s). For Oklahoma City, Jalen Williams (26p, 6r, 3a, 1s), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24p, 8r, 4a, 3b), Chet Holmgren (20p, 10r, 2a, 1s), and Lu Dort (12p, 4r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana is now 14-5 in the playoffs
  • Indiana is 14-0 when scoring 110+ points
• Indiana is 7-2 at home during the playoffs
• Indiana have now won 10 straight games following a loss – 94 days since they last loss back-to-back games
• Indiana is averaging 118.1 points per game at home during the playoffs
• Indiana is averaging 114.9 points per game on the road during the playoffs
• Indiana held Oklahoma City to their fewest points in the fourth quarter (18) this postseason
  • 3rd fewest points in a quarter this postseason
• Oklahoma City is 13-6 in the playoffs
• Oklahoma City is 4-4 on the road during the playoffs
• Oklahoma City is now 30-3 against Eastern Conference teams
• Oklahoma City’s 18 bench points are the 2nd fewest for the Thunder in the playoffs
• Oklahoma City is averaging 122.1 points per game at home during the playoffs
• Oklahoma City is averaging 108.8 points per game on the road during the playoffs
• When road team splits first 2 games then wins game three, they win the series 60% of the time
• Bennedict Mathurin’s 27 points are the most points in a playoff game in his career
  • Most points in a game since scoring 28 points on 3/20/25 vs Brooklyn
  • Tied most points off the bench by a Pacers player in a playoff game in franchise history – Jalen Rose
• Chet Holmgren has recorded a double-double in 7 playoff games
  • Only 2nd game with 20+ points and 10+ rebounds
• Chet Holmgren has scored 20+ points in 6 playoff games
  • Tonight marked first loss for OKC when Holmgren scores 20+ points
• Jalen Williams has scored 20+ points in 9 playoff games
• Myles Turner’s 5 blocks tie a playoff career high for a 5th time in his career
• Myles Turner is now the franchise leader in blocks in the playoffs
• Pascal Siakam has scored 20+ points in 9 games this postseason
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 24 points are the fewest in a game when playing 30+ minutes this postseason
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led his team in scoring in 16 of the 19 playoff games
  • Aaron Wiggins 21 points in game one versus Memphis
  • Jalen Williams 32 points in game three versus Denver
  • Jalen Williams 26 points in game three versus Indiana
• Shai Gilgeous Alexander’s 6 turnovers are the most in a playoff game this postseason
• Shai Gilgeous Alexander’s 3 blocks are the most in a playoff game this postseason
• T.J. McConnell has scored 10+ points in consecutive games
• T.J. McConnell’s 5 steals are a playoff career high
• Tyrese Haliburton’s 22 points are the 2nd most points in a game versus the Thunder
• Tyrese Haliburton has scored 20+ points in 9 playoff games
  • Indiana is 8-1 in those games
  • Indiana is 33-4 this season when he scores 20+ points
• Tyrese Haliburton has recorded his 11th double-double of the postseason

7. Next Up

Indiana and Oklahoma City will get back to it on Friday night with only one day off between games. Pat Boylan will get things started at 8pm followed by the play-by-play coverage with Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill at 8:30pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.

Here is the NBA Finals Schedule:

• Thursday, June 5 | Game 1 at Oklahoma City | Indiana 111 – Oklahoma City 110
• Sunday, June 8 | Game 2 at Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City 123 – Indiana 107
• Wednesday, June 11 | Game 3 in Indianapolis | Indiana 116 – Oklahoma City 107
• Friday, June 13 | Game 4 in Indianapolis – 8:30pm
• Monday, June 16 | Game 5 at Oklahoma City – 8:30pm
• Thursday, June 19 | Game 6 in Indianapolis – 8:30pm
• Sunday, June 22 | Game 7 at Oklahoma City – 8pm