Thunder find themselves in familiar territory in NBA Finals, trailing 2-1 in another series
Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) battle for the ball during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
basketball
By TIM REYNOLDS
Game 1, a loss on the opposition's final shot. Game 2, an easy win. Game 3, another loss to fall behind in the series again.
This formula is not the one that would be considered optimal by the Oklahoma City Thunder, especially in the NBA Finals. But if there is some consolation for the overall No. 1 seed in these playoffs, it's this: the Thunder have been in this exact spot before and found a way to prevail.
That resiliency will be tested yet again, after the Indiana Pacers beat the Thunder 116-107 on Wednesday night to take a 2-1 series lead in these finals. Game 4 is in Indianapolis on Friday night.
'I thought it was an uncharacteristic night in a lot of ways for us,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'We got to learn from it and then tap back into being who we are in Game 4. If we do that, I think we'll have a much better chance to win.'
It was not very Thunder-like in Game 3. They blew a fourth quarter lead for the second time in the series, gave up 21 points off turnovers and let the Pacers' bench run wild — outscoring the OKC reserves 49-18.
'We'll watch it. It wasn't all bad,' Daigneault said. 'But we definitely have to play our style and impose our will for more of the 48 minutes if we want to come on the road and get a win.'
There are uncanny similarities between the first three games of this series and the first three games of the Western Conference semifinal matchup between Oklahoma City and Denver.
— In Game 1 of the West semifinals, Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer with about 3 seconds left to give the Nuggets a win in Oklahoma City. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left to give the Pacers a win in Oklahoma City.
— In Game 2 of the West semifinals, the Thunder evened things up with an easy win. In Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the Thunder evened things up with an easy win.
— In Game 3 of the West semifinals, Denver — at home for the first time in that series — played from behind most of the night before fighting into overtime and eventually getting a win for a 2-1 series lead. In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Indiana — at home for the first time in the series — trailed for much of the first half before eventually getting a win for a 2-1 series lead.
The Thunder dug their way out of that hole against the Nuggets. And now, the same task awaits — with an NBA title at stake.
'I wouldn't say that now is the time for emotions, to be thinking about how you're feeling, emotional this, emotional that,' Thunder forward Chet Holmgren said. 'You kind of have to cut that out and look at the substance of what it is. We have a great opportunity here and the great thing is we have another game coming up, Game 4.'
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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SGA says Thunder have no room for fatigue in NBA Finals
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Japan Today
2 days ago
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Thunder find themselves in familiar territory in NBA Finals, trailing 2-1 in another series
Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) battle for the ball during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) basketball By TIM REYNOLDS Game 1, a loss on the opposition's final shot. Game 2, an easy win. Game 3, another loss to fall behind in the series again. This formula is not the one that would be considered optimal by the Oklahoma City Thunder, especially in the NBA Finals. But if there is some consolation for the overall No. 1 seed in these playoffs, it's this: the Thunder have been in this exact spot before and found a way to prevail. That resiliency will be tested yet again, after the Indiana Pacers beat the Thunder 116-107 on Wednesday night to take a 2-1 series lead in these finals. Game 4 is in Indianapolis on Friday night. 'I thought it was an uncharacteristic night in a lot of ways for us,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'We got to learn from it and then tap back into being who we are in Game 4. If we do that, I think we'll have a much better chance to win.' It was not very Thunder-like in Game 3. They blew a fourth quarter lead for the second time in the series, gave up 21 points off turnovers and let the Pacers' bench run wild — outscoring the OKC reserves 49-18. 'We'll watch it. It wasn't all bad,' Daigneault said. 'But we definitely have to play our style and impose our will for more of the 48 minutes if we want to come on the road and get a win.' There are uncanny similarities between the first three games of this series and the first three games of the Western Conference semifinal matchup between Oklahoma City and Denver. — In Game 1 of the West semifinals, Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer with about 3 seconds left to give the Nuggets a win in Oklahoma City. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left to give the Pacers a win in Oklahoma City. — In Game 2 of the West semifinals, the Thunder evened things up with an easy win. In Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the Thunder evened things up with an easy win. — In Game 3 of the West semifinals, Denver — at home for the first time in that series — played from behind most of the night before fighting into overtime and eventually getting a win for a 2-1 series lead. In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Indiana — at home for the first time in the series — trailed for much of the first half before eventually getting a win for a 2-1 series lead. The Thunder dug their way out of that hole against the Nuggets. And now, the same task awaits — with an NBA title at stake. 'I wouldn't say that now is the time for emotions, to be thinking about how you're feeling, emotional this, emotional that,' Thunder forward Chet Holmgren said. 'You kind of have to cut that out and look at the substance of what it is. We have a great opportunity here and the great thing is we have another game coming up, Game 4.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Times
2 days ago
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Pacers bounce back to take 2-1 lead over Thunder in NBA Finals
The Indiana Pacers, fueled by a near triple-double from Tyrese Haliburton, outdueled the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107 to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Haliburton scored 22 points with nine rebounds and 11 assists to spearhead a tremendous collective effort that included a career playoff-high 27 points from reserve Bennedict Mathurin. The Pacers' bench outscored the Thunder reserves 49-18, and Indiana wore down NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose 24 points included just three in the fourth quarter. "So many different guys chipped in," Haliburton said. "Ben Mathurin was amazing off the bench tonight. He just stuck with it. We just had guys make plays after plays." Pascal Siakam scored 21 points for Indiana, and TJ McConnell added 10 points and five steals off the bench to help the Pacers improve to 10-0 since March 11 in games immediately after a defeat. They will try to stretch their lead in the best-of-seven championship series when they host Game 4 on Friday before the series heads back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Monday. The Thunder struck early to quiet the enthusiastic crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, seizing a 15-6 lead in less than five minutes. The Pacers closed within two points on a three-pointer from Haliburton, but the Thunder responded and led by eight at the end of the first quarter. Indiana fans, who haven't seen their team in the NBA Finals since the Pacers fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 title series, weren't disappointed for long as a second-half surge fueled by Indiana's reserves saw the Pacers seize the lead. McConnell made a pair of free-throws to put the Pacers up 37-36, and when Mathurin made a running layup to make it 46-42, Indiana had its biggest lead of the series. The Pacers stretched the lead to seven points only for Oklahoma City to tie it up at 51-51. It was knotted at 55-55 when Haliburton drilled a 3-pointer and McConnell nailed a fadeaway to send Indiana into halftime with a 64-60 lead. The back-and-forth battle continued in the third, with Oklahoma City opening the second half on an 8-0 run, only for the Pacers to charge back. After five more lead changes the Thunder took an 89-84 lead into the final period, but they couldn't bring it home. The Pacers took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Haliburton with 6:42 remaining. Obi Toppin threw down a dunk that made it 107-100 then blocked a Jalen Williams layup as the Pacers gained control in a game that was close throughout. Williams finished with 26 points and Chet Holmgren added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, but the Thunder coughed up 19 turnovers leading to 21 Indiana points. "In the fourth quarter, I just thought they really outplayed us on both ends," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said afterwards. "I thought they were in character in terms of their physicality, their pressure on defense. Then they were in character in terms of their pace on offense. They just stacked way more quality possessions in the fourth quarter than we did."
