Pacers roll past Thunder 108-91 to
send the NBA Finals to a deciding Game 7
[June 20, 2025]
By TIM REYNOLDS
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Season on the line, the Indiana Pacers did what
they’ve done time and time again. They bucked the odds.
And the NBA Finals are going to an ultimate game.
Obi Toppin scored 20 points, Andrew Nembhard added 17 and the Pacers
forced a winner-take-all Game 7 by rolling past the Oklahoma City
Thunder 108-91 on Thursday night.
The first Game 7 in the NBA Finals since 2016 is Sunday night in
Oklahoma City.
“The ultimate game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, while
Tyrese Haliburton — playing through a strained calf — scored 14
points. The Pacers started slowly and then turned things into a
blowout.
Game 6 was a microcosm of Indiana’s season in a way. The Pacers
started the regular season with 15 losses in 25 games, have had five
comebacks from 15 or more down to win games in these playoffs, and
they’re one win from a title.
“We just wanted to protect home court,” Haliburton said. “We didn’t
want to see these guys celebrate a championship on our home floor.
Backs against the wall and we just responded. ... Total team
effort.”
TJ McConnell, the spark off the bench again, finished with 12
points, nine rebounds and six assists for Indiana.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points for the Thunder, who pulled
their starters after getting down by 30 going into the fourth. Jalen
Williams added 16.
“Credit Indiana,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They earned
the win. They outplayed us for most of the 48 minutes. They went out
there and attacked the game.”
Good news for the Thunder: home teams are 15-4 in finals Game 7s.
Bad news for the Thunder: Cleveland won at Golden State in the most
recent of those and one of the three other home-team losses was in
1978 — by Seattle, the franchise that would move to Oklahoma City
three decades later.
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Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) and forward Obi Toppin (1)
celebrate during the second half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals
basketball series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Thursday, June
19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Indiana missed its first eight shots and got down
10-2. The arena, roaring just a few minutes before at the start,
quieted quickly. Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, sitting courtside in a
Jalen Rose Pacers jersey, was pacing, kneeling, generally acting
more nervous than he ever seemed as a player.
No need.
After the slow start, the Pacers outscored the Thunder 68-32 over
the next 24 minutes. An Indiana team that hadn’t led by more than 10
points at any time in the first five games — and that double-digit
lead was brief — led by 28 early in the third quarter. The margin
eventually got to 31, which was Oklahoma City’s second-biggest
deficit of the season.
The worst also came in these playoffs: a 45-point hole against
Minnesota in the Western Conference finals. The Thunder came back to
win that series, obviously, and now will need that bounce-back
ability one more time.
“Obviously, it was a very poor performance by us,” Daigneault said.
The Thunder, desperate for a spark, put Alex Caruso in the starting
lineup in place of Isaiah Hartenstein to open the second half. There
was no spark. In fact, there was nothing whatsoever — neither team
scored in the first 3:53 after halftime, the sides combining to miss
their first 13 shots of the third quarter.
And the outcome was never in doubt.
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