Pacers vs. Thunder Game 2 Predictions: Odds, expert picks, recent stats, trends and best bets for June 8
On Sunday, June 8, the Indiana Pacers (50-32) and Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14) are all set to square off from Paycom Center in Oklahoma City for Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Indiana continued its miraculous playoff run with another fourth-quarter rally to steal a Game 1. Tyrese Haliburton hit his fourth Game 1 game-winner with a two-point jump shot over Cason Wallace with 0.3 seconds remaining to win 111-110.
Haliburton (14 points, 10 rebounds) and the Pacers overcame Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's game-high 38 points and multiple double-digit leads throughout. The Thunder entered the fourth quarter with a 9-point lead and ended the game efficiently in many areas, including free-throws (21-of-24) and turnovers (6).
Both teams won all three of their Game 2's this postseason and went 3-0 against the spread.
We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Pacers vs. Thunder live today
Date: Sunday, June 8, 2025
Time: 8:00PM EST
Site: Paycom Center
City: Oklahoma City, OK
Network/Streaming: ESPN / ABC
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.
Game odds for Pacers vs. Thunder
The latest odds as of Sunday:
Odds: Pacers(+390), Thunder (-520)
Spread: Thunder -11
Over/Under: 228.5 points
That gives the Pacers an implied team point total of 108.5, and the Thunder 120.5.
Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports' Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!
Expert picks & predictions for Sunday's Pacers vs. Thunder game
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today's Pacers & Thunder game:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Indiana Pacers at +11
Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 228.5
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions pagefrom NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today's calendar!
Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Pacers vs. Thunder on Sunday
Indiana is 3-0 ATS and on the ML in Game 2's of the playoffs
Oklahoma City is 3-0 ATS and on the ML in Game 2's of the playoffs
Pascal Siakam (19 points, 10 rebounds), Aaron Nesmith (10 points, 12 rebounds), and Tyrese Haliburton (14 points, 10 rebounds) double-doubled in Game 1 for Indiana
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 38 points in Game 1
Jalen Williams and Tyrese Haliburton are tied for the series lead in assists with 6
If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)

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Indianapolis Star
28 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
One phone call brought Haliburton, Siakam together, turned the Pacers into a contender.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Outside of a handful of interactions in summer workouts, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton didn't know Pascal Siakam very well, when he learned Indiana might trade for the Toronto All-Star a year ago January. Haliburton and Siakam had exchanged pleasantries at Rico Runs — the well-known UCLA-based summer pickup games organized by longtime NBA assistant Rico Hines — but otherwise the pair hadn't often crossed paths. Now, with his front office considering a move to pair him with Siakam, Indiana's emerging franchise face thought it would be a good idea for the two to connect. Stepping out of a dinner during the team's mid-January swing through Atlanta last season, Haliburton talked with Siakam for roughly an hour. That phone call provided the building blocks of a relationship that's anchored the Pacers' run to the NBA Finals 17 months later. Re-live the Pacers unbelievable run to the 2025 NBA Finals with IndyStar's commemorative book 'I wanted to have a conversation, 'Hey, is this something you actually you want to do? Do you want to be here?'' Haliburton said Saturday, recounting the conversation. 'Because I think that the guys who have been a part of the nucleus of this group, we cherish this organization and what we have been able to build here. I think every team, when you ultimately win a championship or play at a high level, there's a trade that happens or you bring in somebody from the outside to be a part of it and you don't want to make the wrong move, right. 'If you go in for Pascal, you want it to be about the right things.' In Siakam, the Pacers were looking for an high-caliber complementary piece to Haliburton. At that point a two-time All-Star, Siakam had also garnered All-NBA second- and third-team nods during his career, and won a title with Toronto in 2019. And in Indiana, Siakam saw the forming momentum of a franchise rallying around a superlative young point guard. The kind of creative ball handler who could score in bunches but create for teammates with equal ease. 'We had a great conversation, and I think we just very much so aligned on wanting to win and that being the emphasis,' Haliburton said. 'I told him that, 'Hey, we could really play well together. I think I could get you the ball in space and allow you to do what you do.' He preached that there's many things that he could do to help me succeed.' And so it's been in the year and a half since a three-team trade brought Siakam to Indianapolis. After re-signing with the Pacers on a four-year contract worth close to $190 million in July, Siakam turned in the third All-Star season of his career this winter. He led Indiana in points and rebounds per game, and thus far is doing the same in the playoffs. He even narrowly edged Haliburton for Eastern Conference finals MVP, after Indiana dispatched the Knicks in six games. Together, their adaptable skillsets embody a team whose versatility has become one of its greatest strengths. These Pacers can play big or small, defend well, run the floor and find their offense all over it. Trading for Haliburton handed Indiana a franchise cornerstone around which it could build a winner. Siakam became the final, crucial piece to that puzzle. Together, they have positioned the Pacers as an NBA title contender for the first time in a quarter century, all of it starting with one forthright phone call between two men crucial to making it possible. 'The biggest thing that I can respect about him is just his work ethic,' Haliburton said. 'He comes in the gym, I know he's going to be there every day. I know the exact hoop he's going to be on, so I try not to take his hoop. I let him get his one-on-one work in. 'Seeing him work that hard makes me want to work harder, and I think that goes through our group. I love having him as a teammate.'
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pacers vs. Thunder: On-court NBA Finals logo needs to return to give the event the special feel it deserves
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McDonough via Getty Images) 'We have the opportunity to plan well in advance and to design a specific neutral court for a Cup championship game, and the teams design their own Cup courts,' commissioner Adam Silver said Friday. 'And it actually takes a significant amount of time to create new courts in terms of how they're painted, et cetera.' Advertisement Here's a solution for the league, which they could employ starting next year: At the start of the conference finals, start making four versions of the floor for each arena so something will be ready for the Finals. Of course, two will go unused, but the payoff of fan satisfaction could be worth the investment. It's simple, and it doesn't affect the style or quality of play. But the visual of the logo makes the moment feel big, and the NBA should focus on making moments feel bigger — especially for a television audience. 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'I'm nostalgic as well for certain things and and also, I think, for, you know, media-driven culture, whether it's people watching live or seeing those images on social media, it's nice when you're looking back on highlights and they stand out because you see that that trophy logo or some other indication that it's a special event.' The Finals script design made its return in 2022 after a few years of a very bland, Microsoft Word-style design that was panned by all. When the script returned for the first time since the 2017 Finals, fans across the league rejoiced. Advertisement It felt important. It felt big. It was first put on the floors in the 1989 NBA Finals, and two years later, decals for the entire NBA playoffs were placed. Like Silver said, it created a nostalgia that for some reason the league went away from reinforcing. 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Yahoo
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Sources: Some Knicks players weren't thrilled with Tom Thibodeau, with his firing being spearheaded by owner James Dolan
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