Pacers push Thunder into another deficit after Game 3
INDIANAPOLIS—Every time Indiana has lost a game in the last three months, it simply has come back to win the next one.
Even in the NBA Finals—against a huge favorite who the Pacers now have in some trouble.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points off the bench, Tyrese Haliburton finished with 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Pacers retook the lead in the NBA Finals by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-107, in Game 3 on Wednesday night.
“This is the kind of team that we are,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We need everybody to be ready. It’s not always going to be exactly the same guys that are stepping up with scoring and stuff like that. But this is how we’ve got to do it.”
Pascal Siakam scored 21 for Indiana, which enjoyed a whopping 49-18 edge in bench points. The Pacers, who lost Game 2 in Oklahoma City, improved to 10-0 since mid-March in the game immediately following a loss.
“So many different guys chipped in,” Haliburton said.
Jalen Williams scored 26 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 24 and Chet Holmgren had 20 for the Thunder, who led by five going into the four.
The Thunder lost Game 1 on the opposition’s final shot. Game 2, they took an easy win. This time, Oklahoma City suffered another loss to fall behind in the series again.
This formula is not the one that would be considered optimal by the Thunder. But if there is some consolation for the overall No. 1 seed in these playoffs, it’s this: they have been in this exact spot before and found a way to prevail.
Uncannt similarities
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.
