Pacers vs. Thunder Game 1 Predictions: Odds, expert picks, recent stats, trends and best bets for June 5
On Thursday, June 5, 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 1 of the NBA Finals.
The Indiana Pacers capped off its magical run with a 4-2 series win over the Knicks at home, giving NBA fans one of the most memorable runs since the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Indiana beat both Milwaukee and Cleveland in five games apiece before finishing the Knicks off in six.
Advertisement
On the other hand, the Thunder were the favorite to win the NBA Finals for months and are four wins away from accomplishing this rare feat after sliding by the Timberwolves in five games. Denver did give OKC a run with a seven-game series after the 4-0 sweep in the first round, but that's the only sweat the Thunder have endured lately.
Oklahoma City won both meetings versus Indiana this season by 6 and 21 points (120-114, 132-111). Chet Holmgren did not play in either meeting this season and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 and 45 points on the Pacers with 8 assists and 7 rebounds in each game.
We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on 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.
Listen to the Rotoworld Basketball Show for the latest fantasy player news, waiver claims, roster advice and more from our experts all season long. Click here or download it wherever you get your podcasts.
Game details & how to watch Pacers vs. Thunder live today
Date: Thursday, June 5, 2025
Time: 8:30PM EST
Site: Paycom Center
City: Oklahoma City, OK
Network/Streaming: ESPN / ABC
Advertisement
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 Thursday:
Odds: Pacers (+320), Thunder (-410)
Spread: Thunder -9
Over/Under: 230.5 points
That gives the Pacers an implied team point total of 110.5, 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 Thursday's Pacers vs. Thunder game
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas) likes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over 12.5 assists and rebounds (-115):
"This might be a line that goes unnoticed in the first few games of the series. When you think about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it's generally how great and effective of a scorer he is. However, SGA grabs boards and when help comes, he's a fantastic facilitator.
Advertisement
SGA has gone over this number in both meetings the two teams played against each other this season. He also went over in three of the five games in the Western Conference Finals. Sprinkle the double double as well."
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes a sprinkle on SGA (+500) and Jalen Williams (+6600) to lead the series in assists:
"Tyrese Haliburton obviously seems like the right choice, but in comparison, the odds say Haliburton is more likely to lead the series in assists than SGA is to win MVP -- I do not agree with that whatsoever.
If Haliburton has two games with 5, 6 assists, or less, like he did in one of two regular season meetings, then this race will be much closer than the odds indicate, so I would sprinkle Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams in this market.
Advertisement
Both SGA and Williams averaged about 5 and 7 assists per game over the postseason with double-digit potential assists per game. There is a strong potential for double-double or even triple-double opportunities for both OKC stars."
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
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 +9
Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 230.5
Advertisement
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 Thursday
Oklahoma City is 2-1 on the ML and ATS in Game 1's this postseason
Indiana is 3-0 on the ML and ATS in Game 1's this postseason
Oklahoma City is 8-1 on the ML at home this postseason, while Indiana is 6-2 on the ML as the road team
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the Western Conference Finals MVP with 31.4 PPG, 8.2 APG, and 5.2 APG
Pascal Siakam won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP with 24.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.5 APG
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)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pastor Troy to perform at Atlanta Hawks NBA Draft party
The NBA Draft on Channel 2 is less than two weeks away. While the Atlanta Hawks are on the clock, the team will host a watch party at State Farm Arena featuring a Southern hip-hop icon. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The Hawks announced Pastor Troy will perform on June 25. Tickets are now on sale for $5 and proceeds will go to the YMCA of Metro Atlanta. Advertisement 'I'm excited to perform at the Atlanta Hawks' Draft Watch Party,' Pastor Troy said. 'I'm going to bring the energy that will resonate across State Farm Arena all season long. We ready!' Doors for the watch party will open at 7 p.m. and fans can stick around until the end of the first round until 11:30 p.m. 'We are so thrilled to host our Draft Watch Party at State Farm Arena,' Hawks Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Proctor said. 'We already have thousands of fans committed to coming downtown, and we can't wait to welcome more as we plan to celebrate the selections of our newest draft picks.' The NBA Draft first round will air live June 25 at 8 p.m. on Channel 2. The Hawks have the No. 13 pick. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
CBS News
14 minutes ago
- CBS News
Baylor men's basketball begins summer practice with entirely new roster
Baylor coach Scott Drew had plenty of players for the first practice of the summer Wednesday, about two months after the team photo from last season was widely circulated on social media with an X marked over all 14 of those players since none were returning to the Bears. Only four of those players exhausted their college eligibility. Nine others left in the transfer portal and one-and-done guard VJ Edgecombe could become Baylor's highest pick ever in the NBA draft later this month. "Guys you didn't want to lose and were valuable, we haven't had many that we've lost. Whenever you do, that just tears at a coach, because you feel like you didn't do your job," Drew said this week. "With the portal, I think we've all gotten used to a lot more turnover in a hurry, and not to take things necessarily personal." The Bears rebuilt their roster with eight transfers and a four-player signing class with a five-star prospect and the son of an NBA champion. Among the 14 players at the first practice was Cameron Carr, the former Tennessee guard who transferred to Baylor in the middle of last season, long after that team photo session. One of the former Bears was guard Robert Wright, who averaged 11.5 points and 4.2 assists a game as a freshman last season and had reportedly agreed to a lucrative NIL deal to stay before transferring to BYU for an even bigger package. "You know people are going to leave. Rob, obviously, was someone we had an agreement with. When you make an agreement, you think you're done," Drew said, without getting into any specifics. "Obviously that was a surprise to us, but again, the staff did a great job of putting together a roster and team. That's part of, hopefully, the House settlement, where you get to a point where you know who's on your team and when they're locked in, they're locked in." The eight incoming transfers have more than 500 games played combined, including guards Dan Skillings, who played 100 games over three years for Cincinnati, and JJ White, who started 75 of 99 games at Omaha over the same period. Juslin Bodo Bodo is a 7-foot post from Cameroon, who started all 71 of his games for the NCAA Tournament team High Point the past two seasons. Obi Agbim, a 6-foot-3 guard, was the Mountain West newcomer of the year after averaging 17.6 points and 3.4 assists in 29 games last season for Wyoming. Five-star prospect Tounde Yessoufou, a small forward from St. Joseph High School in California, leads the signing class that also includes Andre Iguodala II, whose father was a four-time champion over 19 NBA seasons with four teams; Italian forward Maikcol Perez and big man May Soyoye. Baylor, Gonzaga and Houston are the only teams to win at least one game in each of the past six NCAA Tournaments, though the Bears have lost in the second round the past four years since their national championship in 2021. Drew and his staff will get an early look at the new squad with Baylor representing the United States at the World University Games next month in Germany. "Any year you get a foreign tour, it's huge. ... Since we're returning 0.0 (percent of our) scoring, this give us all an opportunity," Drew said. "The games will be good for those that can play in it. But the practices will be great for everyone. And then, the one thing everybody leaves out is you do these team-bonding activities. There's nothing better than being overseas, that really brings you together a lot more than when you have all the distractions you do in the United States."
USA Today
19 minutes ago
- USA Today
How should the Nets use their cap space for the 2025 NBA offseason?
How should the Nets use their cap space for the 2025 NBA offseason? The Brooklyn Nets head into the 2025 NBA offseason with the most cap space in the league by far, giving them the opportunity to do whatever they want from a financial perspective. The simplest use of cap space is to use the money to sign free-agents, but there is a chance for Brooklyn to use the space they have to do more than just bring in players. "General manager Sean Marks needs to throw that weight around like he means it," Bleacher Report's Dan Favale wrote when discussing the Nets and their salary cap situation. There have been various projections introduced since the February trade deadline for the 2024-25 season, but the Nets are projected to have somewhere between $40 million and $50 million in cap space while the next-closest team (Detroit Pistons) is expected to have around $25 million. "And as a reminder: Cap space isn't just for free agency. The Nets can use their financial runway to facilitate blockbuster deals or salary dumps in exchange for picks and prospects," Favale continued. "Asset accumulation is the one and only goal. If the Nets think they can drive up the price tag on rival free agents like Jonathan Kuminga (restricted), Myles Turner or Naz Reid (player option), then have at it." To Favale's point, Brooklyn has the opportunity to not only be able to sign any free-agent they want because of their spending power, but could take advantage of their surplus of cap space compared to the rest of the league. The Nets are projected to have twice as much cap space as the next-closest team and there are teams like the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns who would like to shed salary so that they can have access to the mechanisms that can allow them to improve their teams, but are restricted by the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Brooklyn is coming off a 26-56 record during the 2024-25 season so the team isn't close to being a contender anytime soon, meaning they will have to use as many of their assets to close that gap as possible. The Nets also have five draft picks to use in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft and even with that, they could use some of those draft picks to target specific players or entice teams to give them something they want in exchange for cost-controlled talent.
