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Bennedict Mathurin discusses the Pacers' Game 3 win over the Thunder

Bennedict Mathurin discusses the Pacers' Game 3 win over the Thunder

Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points to help the Pacers beat the Thunder 116-107 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

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Magic Johnson makes expectations clear for Luka Doncic
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Magic Johnson makes expectations clear for Luka Doncic

The Luka Doncic era has begun for the Los Angeles Lakers. While LeBron James, presumably, has at least one season left with the team, the pressure and expectations of leading the team to success have shifted over to Doncic. In six seasons and change with the Dallas Mavericks, he reached the Western Conference Finals twice and the NBA Finals once. While that may be considered somewhat satisfactory for that franchise, things are much different when they play for the Lakers, a franchise that has won 17 world championships. Magic Johnson, who led the Lakers to five of those championships, made it clear during an appearance on ESPN's "First Take" that the standard of excellence for Doncic in L.A. is the Larry O'Brien Trophy. "Luka gotta understand this is not Dallas. To your point, Kobe [Bryant], superstar who led us, Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) led us to a championship, LeBron led us. And that's what's missing here. We shouldn't have to tell you to be in shape, you should have been about that, right? Especially when you're a superstar. So this is gonna be an important year for the Lakers, important offseason for the Lakers." So far this offseason, Doncic has looked noticeably thinner, which is certainly a good sign. Assuming the Lakers improve the rest of their roster, it will now be on Doncic to lead the way, both on and off the court, along with James, as they continue to seek their 18th NBA title. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle It won't be enough for Doncic to continue to put up insane numbers — he needs to consistently deliver in crunch time, something he didn't do enough of since joining the team, and especially during the postseason. That is what true Lakers greats such as Bryant, O'Neal, Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did in the past and what James did during the franchise's last championship season five years ago.

Thunder have been here before, down 2-1 in these playoffs, do they have another comeback in them?
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June 13, 2025 NBA games: Odds, tips and betting trends The NBA Playoff matchups in a Friday lineup that shouldn't be missed include the Oklahoma City Thunder squaring off against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. For analysis of all the big matchups in the NBA today, dive into our betting odds preview below. NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 8:51 PM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Today's NBA games: Betting information NBA League Pass: The most live games plus NBA TV. Sign up today The Thunder match up with the Pacers at 8:30 PM ET on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Favorite: Thunder (-6.5) Thunder (-6.5) Total: 225.5 225.5 Moneyline: Thunder (-225) | Pacers (+185) Click here for a full betting preview Watch the NBA on Fubo! Watch the NBA on TNT on Sling!

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