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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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)
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