DOWN TO THE WIRE
Simply put, Indiana did not let another home-court opportunity slip away on Thursday night, not with a raucous crowd on its feet almost from start to finish, not with Reggie Miller and nearly a dozen former Pacers cheering them on, and certainly not with the first NBA title in franchise just two wins away.
So the Pacers dug down, fought through injuries and finally played their way. They knocked down three-pointers, forced turnovers and had the heavily gold-clad crowd doing high-fives between the third and fourth quarters as Indiana extended its season with a 108-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The winner-take-all Game 7 is on Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
“They rallied and got behind our group and here’s a do-or-die game, and as much as we didn’t want to lose this game and see a celebration on our floor, our fans didn’t want to see that either,” Tyrese Haliburton said after finishing with 14 points and five assists in 23 minutes on a strained right calf.
This wasn’t just a win-or-go-home scenario for the Pacers.
They’ve been motivated all season by the bitter memories of losing their last two home games by three points each in the 2024 Eastern Conference finals as the injured Haliburton watched helplessly from the sideline. Boston used that four-game sweep to fuel its record 18th title run.
And they blew a seven-point lead in the final 11 minutes of Game 3, giving away the home-court advantage they stole on Haliburton’s last-second winner in Game 1.
This time, it wasn’t even close.
“We came here with the energy we needed, and we had an amazing crowd,” Obi Toppin said after leading the Pacers with 20 points. “Amazing fans, best fans in the world who helped us throughout this game. We went out there and did what we had to do to get this win.”
Indiana took control midway through the second quarter and spent the rest of the night pulling away as a smattering of Oklahoma City fans watched glumly.
Sure, one difference was Haliburton’s ability to overcome the strained right calf that made him so ineffective in the Game 5 loss that put Indiana on the cusp of elimination.
But after convincing team trainers he could play and still be effective, the Pacers rebounded from missing their first eight shots to make eight of the next 10. Then, as usual, it was off to the races.
Indiana forced 12 first-half turnovers, outscoring the Thunder, 16-3, on fast break and 19-3 in bench points while using 11-0 and 6-0 runs to extend the margin to 64-42 at halftime. Defensively, they were even better in the second half.
Though they didn’t force as many turnovers, they held the Thunder scoreless more than five minutes while forcing seven straight misses to start the third quarter—working the crowd into a frenzy as they rolled to a 70-42 lead.
Miller flailed his arms in the air in a Jalen Rose jersey. Metta World Peace waved a towel and Lance Stephenson repeatedly pumped his fists. Even John Haliburton, Tyrese’s father, cherished the moment.
But finishing their home season with a win is only the first part of the equation. Now they must go on the road and replicate what they just did if they are to achieve their ultimate goal—winning a title.
