You are more likely to be hit by lightning than the Pacers were to win their playoff comebacks
When the Indiana Pacers trailed the Oklahoma City Thunder by 9 points with 2 minutes and 52 seconds left in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, ESPN's win probability model gave the Pacers only a 3.6% chance to win.
Not only did the Pacers overcome that deficit to win 111-110 and take a 1-0 lead in the series, that wasn't even Indiana's most improbable comeback this postseason.
The Pacers have become the masters of the come-from-behind victory in the 2025 playoffs, pulling off at least one miracle in each round.
In Game 5 of the conference quarterfinals, Indiana overcame a 7-point deficit against the Milwaukee Bucks in the final 39 seconds of overtime — when the Pacers' odds of winning were only 2.1% — and won 119-118.
In Game 2 of the conference semifinals, Indiana had only a 4.1% chance of winning when it trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers by 7 with 57.1 seconds to go, but the Pacers ultimately won 120-119.
And in Game 1 of the conference finals, Indiana pulled off a never-before-seen comeback against the New York Knicks, rallying from 14 points down with 2 minutes and 51 seconds to go in the fourth quarter before winning 138-135 in overtime — the odds of which were 0.3%.
While winning even one of these games was a highly improbable task for the Pacers, winning all four was extremely unlikely.
How unlikely, exactly? Well, you'd have a better chance of being struck by lightning, for starters.
Here's how the Pacers' four biggest comebacks stack up against some other rare events.
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The Herald Scotland
36 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
NBA Finals Game 2 live updates: Thunder-Pacers prediction, TV channel
Tyrese Haliburton, who contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds, gave the Pacers the lead with 0.3 seconds remaining in the contest with a clutch jumper. It would be enough to secure the shocking 111-110 win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a prolific night for Oklahoma City, dropping 38 points on 14-for-30 shooting. Pascal Siakam led the way for Indiana, posting 19 points on 7-for-15 from the field. It all adds up to a must-see Game 2. USA TODAY Sports - including NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt from Oklahoma City and NBA reporter Lorenzo Reyes - will provide the latest updates, highlights, analysis and more throughout the game. Follow along. What time is Thunder vs Pacers game today? The Oklahoma City Thunder hosts the Indiana Pacers for Game 2 of the NBA Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Where to watch Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 2 Watch the NBA Finals with Fubo Where is Game 2 between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder? The Oklahoma City Thunder hosts the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City for Game 2 of the NBA Finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder are favorites to even the series 1-1 with the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals, according to BetMGM (odds as of Saturday, June 7): Spread : Thunder (-10.5) : Thunder (-10.5) Moneyline : Thunder (-625); Pacers (+450) : Thunder (-625); Pacers (+450) Over/under: 228.5 The Oklahoma City Thunder enter Game 2 as the favorite to win the 2025 NBA Finals over the Indiana Pacers, according to BetMGM (odds as of Saturday, June 7) Series winner: Thunder (-350); Pacers (+275) USA TODAY: Every expert picks the Thunder Ahead of the series opener, all of the NBA experts at USA TODAY Sports picked the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals Scooby Axson: Thunder in five Thunder in five Cydney Henderson: Thunder in six Thunder in six Jordan Mendoza: Thunder in six Thunder in six Lorenzo Reyes: Thunder in six Thunder in six Heather Tucker: Thunder in five Thunder in five James Williams: Thunder in six Thunder in six Jeff Zillgitt: Thunder in five USA TODAY: Nearly every expert picks the Thunder in Game 2 Scooby Axson: Pacers 124, Thunder 117 Pacers 124, Thunder 117 Jordan Mendoza : Thunder 104, Pacers 92 : Thunder 104, Pacers 92 Lorenzo Reyes : Thunder 111, Pacers 102 : Thunder 111, Pacers 102 Heather Tucker : Thunder 117, Pacers 110 : Thunder 117, Pacers 110 James Williams : Thunder 115, Pacers 95 : Thunder 115, Pacers 95 Jeff Zillgitt: Thunder 120, Pacers 109 The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Indiana Pacers at 8 p.m. ET with coverage on ABC. Game 2 between the Thunder and Pacers is available on ABC. Fans also can stream the action with Sling TV and Fubo, which offers a free trial for new users. Game 1, June 5: Pacers 111, Thunder 110 Pacers 111, Thunder 110 Game 2, June 8: Pacers at Thunder Pacers at Thunder Game 3, June 11: Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m. Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m. Game 4, June 13 : Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m. : Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m. Game 5, June 16 : Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.* : Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.* Game 6, June 19 : Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.* : Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.* Game 7, June 22: Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8 p.m.* All times Eastern; *-if necessary Odds via BetMGM on Saturday, June 7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-300) Tyrese Haliburton (+340) Pascal Siakam (+1300) Jalen Williams (+6600) Chet Holmgren (+15000) Myles Turner (+15000) Andrew Nembhard (+15000) The Oklahoma City Thunder have one NBA Championship. It came in 1979 when the franchise was located in Seattle as the SuperSonics. It has not won a title since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Indiana Pacers have not won an NBA Championship. It has two Eastern Conference titles (2000, 2025). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Chet Holmgren Jalen Williams Luguentz Dort Alex Caruso Isaiah Joe Cason Wallace Jaylin Williams Aaron Wiggins Kenrich Williams Isaiah Hartenstein Ousmane Diang Nikola Topic Ajay Mitchell Dillon Jones Tyrese Haliburton Pascal Siakam Myles Turner Benedict Mathurin Obi Toppin Andrew Nebhard Aaron Nesmith T.J. McConnell Isaiah Jackson Jarace Walker Ben Sheppard Johnny Furphy James Johnson Thomas Bryant Official assignments are announced at 9 a.m. on the day of the game. Here are the referees assigned to the 2025 NBA Finals. Tony Brothers (14th Finals) David Guthrie (eighth Finals) James Capers (13th Finals) Ben Taylor (first Finals) Marc Davis (14th Finals) Josh Tiven (sixth Finals) Tyler Ford (first Finals) James Williams (fifth Finals) Scott Foster (18th Finals) Sean Wright (second Finals) John Goble (ninth Finals) Zach Zarba (12th Finals) Eastern Conference finals No. 4 Indiana Pacers def. No. 3 New York Knicks, 4-2 Western Conference finals No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder def. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves, 4-1 NBA Finals No. 4 Indiana Pacers vs. No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder (Pacers lead series 1-0) Per Dustin Dopriak of the Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network, Walker is "going to be out for a while" and is officially ruled out for Games 1 and 2 of the Finals, meaning his earliest possible return would be for Game 3 on June 11 in Indianapolis. More on Walker's injury from USA TODAY's Jon Hoefling.
The Herald Scotland
36 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Boys sports declining? NBA Finals shines light on youth athletics
"That's a scary feeling for me, and I don't know what a 6-9 skinny kid would have been doing, but it wouldn't have been pretty. Growing up here in Oakland, I could have done a lot of other things." We were at March's Project Play Summit, asking him and two other successful men brought up in their own distinct ways through sports, about why they think the athletic participation rate among boys has crashed. As the Pacers play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, a trend you might find troubling lurks at the grass-roots levels. It underscores the thesis of Richard Reeves' 2022 book, "Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters, and What to Do About it," and a more recent brief undertaken by his institute about "The quiet decline of boys' sports." According to the latest data from Sports & Fitness Industry Association, half of boys aged 6 to 17 participated regularly in sports in 2013. But only 41% did in 2023. The number has been at 41% or lower for eight straight years as the rate for girls (35.6% in 2023) has remained steady. At the same time, according to Reeves' research team, sports are the only extracurricular activity boys are more likely to do than girls. "It's not like on the average, boys are going to go to theater or math club - maybe they should," Reeves tells USA TODAY Sports. "Participation in youth sports is a big issue in and of itself, but the stakes are even higher for boys than they are for girls, because they're less likely to do other stuff and they need to move more." How do we get more boys to play sports, and keep the ones who are playing? We spoke with Reeves and sat in on his discussion with Davis and Larry Miller, the chairman of Nike's Jordan Brand advisory board, to help find answers that could help you and your young athlete. Another 'way out' Miller, who grew up in Philadelphia, says he was the teacher's pet through elementary school. He was in junior high when he got distracted. "The cool guys were doing the stuff that was in the street and I got pulled into that," he told the crowd in Berkeley. At 16, he killed another teenager he mistakenly believed was a rival, according to and spent years in a juvenile correction center. He rehabilitated himself first by taking college classes in jail, eventually matriculating at Temple University. "Of all things, as a criminal I decided to get an accounting degree," he said. After revealing his dark background to a hiring manager cost him a job with Arthur Anderson, he kept the story to himself for 40 years. After Miller built his career at Nike, though, his eldest daughter, Laila, suggested it might inspire other people. They collaborated to write, "Jump: My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom." Michael Jordan and Phil Knight, the company's chairman, supported his decision, and he meet with the family of the young man he shot to ask for their forgiveness. In February, Miller launched the Justice and Upward Mobility Project (JUMP) to provide chances for those affected by the justice system. "Part of our goal is how can we provide more opportunity for people who have the talent but just don't have the ability to utilize that talent?" he said. Why not through sports? "I think in the Black communities, brown communities, the sense of hope has kind of dissipated," Miller says. "And I think that's why boys in particular are saying, 'Hey, there's no reason for me to do this, because it's not going to lead to anything.' "In our community, people saw sports as a way out. And I think what happens as boys advance, (they) realize that, 'I'm not gonna be able to play professionally, I'm not gonna to be able to get a college scholarship, so I'm just going to fall off and try to figure out a different way out. I'm gonna go do something else that can allow me to get paid.' " A re-education starts, Davis suggests, with a change in perception of what it means to be a kid, and what it means to be a man. 'Get back to the basics': Normalize what success means for kids Davis' dad was killed when he was in high school. He remembers being singularly motivated to provide for his family. After he played for 13 years in the NBA and raised a son (A.J.) and daughter (Kaela) who both played high-level college basketball and professionally, he thinks more about the benefits he got from sports. Today, youth coaches seem to link their self-worth with winning a game more than providing kids with an experience. "All the pressure that's being put on them by their team and their parents, I just think they're opting to do all the other stuff that's kind of pulling and tugging on them, whether it's playing video games or just hanging out or doing other things," Davis says. "I think they're just being kind of turned off. And I feel we just have to get back to the basics of the importance of all the other life lessons that you're going to learn from just playing sport. I'm a big advocate of just give kids space to move around and move their bodies and learn how to be in shape and to be healthy. "And then as we go on, as I did with my kids, introduce all kinds of sport and whatever they gravitate towards, because that'll be something that'll be tugging at their heart and not forced into." Coach Steve: American kids get a D- in physical activity. What can we do about it? Davis, who is also the CEO of the National Basketball Retired Players Association, says the No. 1 thing former players say they miss about the NBA is the camaraderie. That's a benefit from sports we all get. "I've played almost every sport you can think of really badly, but I had a great time," says Reeves, the British author, who played rugby at the University of Oxford. "The great thing about sport is that someone has to lose. I think one thing that should be zero-sum in sport is you have to lose. And by God, you can lose brutally sometimes. Some of my strongest memories were playing in subzero temperatures (against) these massive kids and losing like 67-0. So you lose. ... "And because I moved around from different sports, probably I would lose more. And I think that that sense of you can compete, you can lose, and that's great, was actually an incredibly important life lesson for me because you lose in life all the time." Coach Steve: Have we lost the sportsmanship in high school sports? What do we 'call a man'? Boys need male role models Reeves, who raised three boys who are now in their 20s, writes in "Of Boys and Men" about how girls consistently outperform boys in school, and about how men are struggling to fit into society and the workforce. He founded the American Institute For Boys and Men (AIBM), which shares in its brief that while we don't have definitive answers as to why boys might be playing sports less often, one hypothesis behind it is the decline in male teachers who serve as coaches, particularly at the high school level. Meanwhile, according to AIMB research, men account for 23% of U.S. elementary and secondary school teachers, down from about 30% in 1988. "Coaches of boys sports are mental health professionals in disguise, and part of it is because they do it shoulder to shoulder, which is a much more male friendly way of doing it," Reeves tells USA TODAY Sports, "but the coach sitting next to the young man or the boy on the bench saying, 'How you doing? You seem off today. How are things at home?' ... that may be one of the most important men in that boy's life. That's very interesting to me, coming from a different culture and raising my kids here, is the almost iconic position of coach in American culture." Davis was raised in Oakland by his mom. He says his grandmother told him what to avoid, and he had influential men around him who gave him sports opportunities and a safe space. Being a professional athlete, he says, doesn't make you a role model. What does is taking accountability for yourself and what you make out of your life. "I hate that if we play sport and we don't make it, we feel like a failure," Davis says. "Whether you are a young man or a growing man, we have to learn how to take this stance, that no matter what society says, no matter the outcome, I'm doing the things that I'm supposed to do: Being a contributor to my community, taking responsibility if I have kids," Davis says. "And we have to find ways to let our kids know that it's OK to hopefully graduate from high school, go off to college if he or she is lucky, and then go on to get a job. "It's not bad to just say, 'Hey, I got a job. I'm making good money, I'm taking care of my kids, I got a ride that can get me from A to B.' We don't have to have the best car and the biggest house and a pocket full of money in order to be what we call a man." Ask your kids about what they get out of sports, and always be there to support them Our life in sports doesn't have to end when our career does. Reeves plays squash and tennis, "and I can still beat my kids at badminton," he says. Working for Jordan Brand, Miller has gotten to travel the world, where, he says, he can attend any sporting event he wants. "I never even came close to being a professional athlete," he says. "There are all these other incredible benefits that come from playing sports and I think we've gotten away from teaching that: The teamwork you learn, the working with others, the being able to be part of something that's bigger than yourself." Basketball remains perhaps the most popular sports for boys and girls to play. According to the Aspen Institute's State of Play 2024 report, more than 7 million kids between the ages of 6 and 17 played it regularly in 2023. However, the percentage of kids who play it has declined or remained the same since 2013. "As I kind of move around and watch a lot of youth basketball, and coach youth basketball, I feel that there's just kind of this pressure: If you're not the best, if you're not going to succeed, then why even try?" says Davis, 56. "And I think there's a lot of layers to why that happens: Parents, the way that it is today with social media and I think a lot of our young men are getting turned off very early by I guess the system." He has a grandson who plays football. "I ask him why is he playing," Davis says. "Regardless of what's going on outside of my house and all this other stuff that I can't control, what I can control is his perception: 'Did you learn something? I saw you get knocked on your butt. How did that feel?' We have to fight against it by getting into the heads of your kids and the teams that you run. "We can't let it take away what we know to be true, which is, if our kids play sports, they're eventually gonna be better off than not playing." His grandson is a 12-year-old lineman. When Davis watched him recently, though, he was allowed to play quarterback. He took the ball, went a couple of steps, and was tackled. Davis acted like he scored a touchdown. "I'm not sure why I did it," he said, "but I needed him to understand the fact that he did something should be celebrated: that he was out there and he was engaged and he got up and he was smiling and having fun. Like, make that the normal, not being a champion." Reeves said the anecdote reminded him of when he was 12, and he finally managed to break through that rugby line. As he ran to score, he saw someone tagging along with him on the sideline. It was his father. "He was more excited than I was," Reeves said. Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here. Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Thunder pack counterpunch in Game 2, even series with Pacers
June 9 - OKLAHOMA CITY -- Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander learned a lesson to open the NBA Finals. "You can't just throw the first punch," Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. "You've got to throw all the punches all night." Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder threw plenty of haymakers, helping Oklahoma City to a 123-107 victory to even the best-of-seven series 1-1 going into Wednesday's Game 3 in Indianapolis. That was a departure from Game 1 last Thursday, when the Thunder led by 15 in the fourth quarter before Indiana came back to win the game 111-110 on a basket in the final second. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way on Sunday for Oklahoma City, scoring 34 with eight assists, five rebounds and four steals and went 11 of 12 on free throws. There were plenty of areas of improvement from Game 1 for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to point out after the victory. Oklahoma City had more success turning Indiana's turnovers into points at the other end, got better production from Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, had nearly double the assists after posting a season-low 13 in Game 1, and got an offensive spark off the bench from Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins. Daigneault said none of those alone were the difference maker, but all came together for a much better result for his team. "I think we were just a little bit better in a lot of areas," Daigneault said. The biggest stretch of the game came in the second quarter, when the Thunder ripped off a 19-2 run that was fueled by both their defense and Gilgeous-Alexander's finishes on the other end. To that point, Oklahoma City's defense hadn't forced many turnovers and it hadn't taken advantage of the few it had caused. But during that big run, Gilgeous-Alexander scored seven of Oklahoma City's last nine points -- all off Pacers' turnovers. Indiana quickly answered with a 10-0 run to make it 52-39, but never got closer than that 13-point deficit. The Thunder outscored the Pacers 26-12 in the paint in the first half and, for the series, now lead 88-68 in that category. "They're the best team in the league at keeping the ball out of there," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "... It's a tough task." In Game 1, Jalen WIlliams and Chet Holmgren combined to shoot just 8 of 28 from the floor, with Holmgren going just 2-for-9 with six points. Holmgren looked much more settled early on in Game 2, hitting five consecutive shots after missing his first of the game. While Williams wasn't overly efficient, scoring 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting, he did go 8-for-9 at the free-throw line and added five assists. Holmgren finished with 15 points while Caruso added 20 and Wiggins 18 off the bench. Tyrese Haliburton, the star of Game 1 after hitting the game-winning shot in the final second, led the Pacers with 17 points, though 12 of those came in the final quarter with the game fairly well in hand for Oklahoma City. Over the first two games of the series, Haliburton is a combined 3-for-9 with nine points before halftime. "I have to figure out how to be better at the beginning of games," Haliburton said. "Kudos to them; they are a great defensive team." A big part of the Thunder's defensive success against Haliburton has been thanks to Luguentz Dort. He has spent plenty of time guarding Haliburton but was on the opposite side of the floor for Haliburton's Game 1 winner. Dort finished with just three points, though Caruso gave Dort plenty of credit for the victory. "He knows the role he needs to play for us to win the series and pick up that trophy at the end," Caruso said. Myles Turner added 16 for Indiana, while Pascal Siakam scored 15 points on 3-of-11 shooting. --Field Level Media
