Aksel Kryhlmand
The Pacers haven’t been this close to a championship in two decades.
With their season on the brink, the Indiana Pacers responded like a team that refuses to quit. Behind a vintage team effort and a stifling second-quarter surge, the Pacers emphatically defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, forcing a decisive Game 7 set for Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
It’s the first NBA Finals to go the distance since 2016, and it comes courtesy of a Pacers squad that has made a habit of battling back all year long.
The ultimate game, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, summing up what lies ahead.
Toppin Leads the Charge as Pacers Flip the Script
Obi Toppin was electric off the bench, pacing Indiana with 20 points, while Andrew Nembhard added 17 and Pascal Siakam recorded a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Tyrese Haliburton, playing through a strained calf, chipped in 14 crucial points and orchestrated the offense with precision.
TJ McConnell, once again a vital sparkplug from the second unit, added 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in an all-around performance.
The Pacers missed their first eight shots and fell behind 10-2 early. But what followed was a complete turnaround. Indiana outscored Oklahoma City 68-32 over the next 24 minutes, flipping the game, and possibly the series, on its head.
By early in the third quarter, the Pacers had built a 28-point lead, their largest of the Finals. The lead ballooned to 31, marking the Thunder’s second-worst deficit of the entire season.
We just wanted to protect home court,” said Haliburton. “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.
Thunder Overwhelmed
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has carried the Thunder all postseason, finished with 21 points but never found his rhythm. Jalen Williams added 16, but the Thunder were never able to mount a meaningful challenge after halftime. By the fourth quarter, with the game out of reach, coach Mark Daigneault had already pulled his starters.
Credit Indiana,” Daigneault said. “They earned the win. They outplayed us for most of the 48 minutes. They went out there and attacked the game.
Daigneault experimented by inserting Alex Caruso into the starting lineup after halftime, but even that adjustment failed to spark the team.
Neither side scored in the first 3:53 of the third quarter, but the Pacers’ cushion remained safe, as Oklahoma City missed its first six shots after the break.
A Season of Resilience Continues
Indiana’s Game 6 performance was a microcosm of its season: rugged starts followed by inspired finishes. After starting the regular season with 15 losses in their first 25 games, the Pacers clawed their way into the playoffs, becoming postseason darlings thanks to their resilience.
They’ve now recorded five comebacks from 15+ points down this postseason alone and are now one win from the franchise’s first NBA title.
History and Pressure Collide
Sunday’s Game 7 will mark only the 20th Finals Game 7 in NBA history. While home teams are 15-4 in such contests, recent history offers hope for Indiana: the Cleveland Cavaliers’ stunning Game 7 win at Golden State in 2016 looms large.
Adding a layer of historical irony, one of the rare home-team losses in a Finals Game 7 came in 1978, when the Seattle SuperSonics, the predecessor of today’s Thunder, fell short.
Oklahoma City has already proven it can recover from embarrassing defeats, having overcome a 45-point blowout loss to Minnesota earlier in these playoffs to win the Western Conference Finals. But this time, the stakes are higher, and the margin for error slimmer.
A City’s Hopes
With Reggie Miller watching courtside in a vintage Jalen Rose jersey, the echoes of Indiana’s past glories hung heavy in the air. The Pacers haven’t been this close to a championship in two decades. Sunday offers them the ultimate chance to complete the unlikeliest of title runs.
For Oklahoma City, it’s a shot at cementing a new legacy behind one of the league’s brightest stars in Gilgeous-Alexander.