The Thunder are in familiar territory in NBA Finals, trailing in the best-of-seven series after Game 3

Boston Globe

19 hours ago

'I thought it was an uncharacteristic night in a lot of ways for us,' Thunder coach
Mark Daigneault
said. 'We got to learn from it and then tap back into being who we are in Game 4. If we do that, I think we'll have a much better chance to win.'
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It was not very Thunder-like in Game 3. They blew a fourth quarter lead for the second time in the series, gave up 21 points off turnovers and let the Pacers' bench run wild — outscoring the OKC reserves 49-18.
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'We'll watch it. It wasn't all bad,' Daigneault said. 'But we definitely have to play our style and impose our will for more of the 48 minutes if we want to come on the road and get a win.'
There are uncanny similarities between the first three games of this series and the first three games of the Western Conference semifinal matchup between Oklahoma City and Denver.
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▪ In Game 1 of the West semifinals, Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer with about 3 seconds left to give the Nuggets a win in Oklahoma City. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left to give the Pacers a win in Oklahoma City.
▪ In Game 2 of the West semifinals, the Thunder evened things up with an easy win. In Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the Thunder evened things up with an easy win.
▪ In Game 3 of the West semifinals, Denver — at home for the first time in that series — played from behind most of the night before fighting into overtime and eventually getting a win for a 2-1 series lead. In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Indiana — at home for the first time in the series — trailed for much of the first half before eventually getting a win for a 2-1 series lead.
The Thunder dug their way out of that hole against the Nuggets. And now, the same task awaits — with an NBA title at stake.
'I wouldn't say that now is the time for emotions, to be thinking about how you're feeling, emotional this, emotional that,' said Thunder forward
Chet Holmgren
. 'You kind of have to cut that out and look at the substance of what it is. We have a great opportunity here and the great thing is we have another game coming up, Game 4.'
Indiana hasn't lost back-to-back games in three months. Oklahoma City hasn't done so in two months.
The Thunder are 6-0 after losses since early April, 5-0 after losses in these playoffs.
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'There's a maximum four games left in the season,' said
Shea Gilgeous-Alexander
. 'It's what you worked the whole season for. It's what you worked all summer for. To me, the way I see it, you got to suck it up, get it done and try to get a win.'
Turner update
Pacers center
Myles Turner
, who had five blocks for Indiana in Game 3, including two against Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren with about 2 minutes left — first on a 3-pointer and then on a 6-footer on the same possession — is dealing with an illness.
Turner was with the Pacers for film on Thursday and then was sent home. It seems Indiana is expecting he will play in Game 4.
Haliburton's free throws
In five games against Oklahoma City this season, Pacers star
Tyrese Haliburton
has been fouled in the act of shooting just once — in the first half of a Thunder-Pacers game on March 29.
He has not taken a free throw in this series. He's the first player to log at least 109 minutes in the first three games of a finals and not take a single free throw since Miami's
Mario Chalmers
in 2012 — also against the Thunder.
In the lead again
In this current 16-team playoff format that dates back to 1984, Indiana is the sixth team to have a 2-1 lead in all four of its postseason series.
The others were the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2020, Boston in 2008, Detroit in 2004 and San Antonio in 2003.
All five of those teams went on to win the NBA title.