Haliburton shines as Pacers overtake Thunder late for 2-1 lead in NBA finals
Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 22 and 11 assists as the Indiana Pacers closed strong to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116–107 in Game 3 of the NBA finals on Wednesday night, taking a 2–1 series lead.
Indiana trailed by five entering the fourth quarter but outscored Oklahoma City 32–18 in the final period, fueled by a 22–8 closing run. Mathurin had 10 points in the quarter, while Haliburton orchestrated the offense and found Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner for key buckets down the stretch.
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 26 points and Chet Holmgren added 20 points and 10 rebounds, but Oklahoma City's offense faltered late. The Thunder shot just 6-of-17 in the fourth and went 0-for-4 from three-point range, committing five turnovers in the period.
Siakam finished with 21 points for Indiana, which had six players score in double figures and shot 51.8% from the field. The Pacers turned 19 Thunder turnovers into 21 points and owned the second-chance battle, 13–7.
Game 4 is Friday in Indianapolis, where the Pacers will look to push Oklahoma City to the brink.
More to follow.
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