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The NBA Finals are here, with West No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder and the East No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers squaring off with the hope of lifting their first-ever Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the highly-anticipated series.
This is the Pacers’ first Finals appearance since 2000, when they eventually fell to the Lakers in six games. The Thunder last made the Finals in 2012 and lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games.
Here’s what has stood out from Wednesday’s Game 3 and what to expect from Game 4 on Friday:
Game 3: Pacers 116, Thunder 107
What stood out for the Pacers: The Pacers have a lot to celebrate in their first Finals game at home in 25 years considering the following stat: When a championship series is tied at 1-1, the team that wins Game 3 goes on to win the title 80 percent of the time.
For Indiana, their bench was the difference-maker, outscoring the Thunder’s reserves, 49-18. Bennedict Mathurin, whom the Pacers selected as the sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft, had a game-high 27 points in 22 minutes off the bench, shooting 9-for-12 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and making 7 of his eight free-throw attempts. T.J. McConnell also had a major impact off the bench, finishing with 10 points and 5 steals in 15 minutes.
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Meanwhile, Tyrese Haliburton, who struggled in Game 2 with just 17 points, had a complete performance in Game 3, finishing just one rebound shy of a triple-double with 22 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Pascal Siakam added 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting to round out the complete team effort for the Pacers on both ends of the court.
Tyrese Haliburton finished Wednesday night one rebound shy of a triple-double. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) <!–>
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What stood out for the Thunder: While the Thunder’s defense has deservedly gotten a lot of praise, considering it has led the league in both the regular season and postseason, this game highlighted the Pacers’ swarming effort on that end of the court. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 36 points in Games 1 and 2, was held to just 24 points on 9-for-20 shooting, including going 1-for-3 from beyond the arc in Game 3. The Pacers forced the Thunder to commit 19 turnovers, on which Indiana scored 21 points. Even though the Thunder outrebounded the Pacers, 42-36, and outshot them from beyond the arc, 45.5 percent to 33.3 percent, the Pacers controlled the physicality, tempo and they simply had more players shine in the first game of the series on their homecourt.
What to expect in Game 4: For the Thunder, they’re going to need to control the pace, limit the amount of Pacers players that get hot and Gilgeous-Alexander is going to need to have an MVP-level performance to prevent them from falling into a 3-1 series hole. For the Pacers, they kept their cool in a game with nine lead changes and 15 ties, with guys who don’t typically have eye-popping stats stepping up in a major way on the biggest of stages. If the Pacers’ bench can continue to roll like this, they’re going to be a very, very tough team to stop, especially on their home floor.
Game 2: Thunder 123, Pacers 107
What stood out for the Thunder: The Thunder learned their lesson from Game 1 and played all 48 minutes of Game 2 after blowing a 15-point fourth-quarter lead in the Finals opener. The Thunder outscored the Pacers 33-21 in the second quarter to lead by as much as 23 points, entered the fourth quarter with a 19-point lead and kept a sizable advantage through the final buzzer. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another 30-plus point performance in the championship round, finishing with 34 points, five rebounds, eight assists and four steals. But this time around, he had much more help, with the Thunder’s reserves outscoring the Pacers’ bench, 48-34. The Thunder’s top-rated defense suffocated the Pacers’ offense. Four Thunder players scored at least 18 points, while no one on the Pacers scored more than 17 points.
What stood out for the Pacers: The Pacers were outrebounded, 43-35, and outscored in points in the paint, 42-34. Tyrese Haliburton had just 17 points, including only scoring three points in the first half on 1-for-5 shooting from the field. The Pacers simply looked out of sorts against a Thunder team that was stunned in Game 1 and made sure to come out with their foot on the gas on both ends of the court in Game 2. Every run the Pacers went on was thwarted by the Thunder, who made sure not to allow the come-from-behind team to take a 2-0 series lead on their home court.
Tyrese Haliburton had a game-high five turnovers in Game 2. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) <!–>
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What to expect in Game 3: For the Pacers, here’s to betting Haliburton and Co. come out way more aggressive in Game 3. There’s no way the Pacers’ star player can finish with just two more field goals (seven) than turnovers (five) and the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, Pascal Siakam, can have 15 points on 3-for-11 shooting and this team can expect to have a chance to win. The Pacers need to pound the boards and figure out ways to find their lanes against the Thunder’s swarming defense. As for the Thunder, they need to try to replicate this wall-to-wall effort in Game 3, knowing that no lead is ever safe against the Pacers, especially on their home floor. The Thunder did a great job getting multiple players involved, including reserve Alex Caruso, who shined on both ends of the court with great defense as well as being the team’s second-leading scorer with 20 points, making four 3-pointers.
Game 1: Pacers 111, Thunder 110
What stood out for the Thunder: Oklahoma City learned a very important lesson in Game 1 of the Finals. No. Lead. Is. Safe. Against. The. Pacers. Ever. The Pacers, who have had multiple historic comebacks this postseason, pulled off the improbable again, storming back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to take their first lead of the game with 0.3 seconds left after Tyrese Haliburton made a 21-foot pullup jumper to stun the Thunder and their sold-out crowd at Paycom Center. This was the ultimate wake-up call for the Thunder, who held control for over 47 minutes, behind a 38-point performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored twice as many points as any other player on the court. But Haliburton, who has made a name for himself this postseason with three buzzer-beaters and go-ahead buckets heading into the Finals, made the Thunder his latest victim.
What stood out for the Pacers: While Haliburton’s late-game heroics have already become playoff lore, it would be nice if he and his team weren’t in that position. The Pacers had a whopping 25 turnovers while the Thunder only had seven. They also had 16 fewer field goal attempts than the Thunder. For much of the game, the Pacers struggled to generate much offense against the swarming Thunder defense, with no player on Indiana even scoring 20 points. Even though the Thunder only led by as much as 15 points, it seemed as though their lead was twice as large for much of the game — until the fourth quarter when the comeback kings did what they do best.
Tyrese Haliburton capped off yet another improbable postseason comeback for the Pacers. (Photo by William Purnell/Getty Images) <!–>
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What to expect in Game 2: For the Thunder, they’ve obviously realized that they need to play all 48 minutes against this Pacers team, which has made it very clear that they never quit. They can’t allow the Pacers to go on heaters late in the game, such as when they went on a 12-2 fourth-quarter run to cut their 15-point deficit to just four points. If the Pacers are within striking distance, the opposing team is in trouble. As for the Pacers, while Haliburton is once again the hero of the playoffs, he only scored 14 points. He needs to be much more aggressive offensively for the Pacers to avoid needing to rely on a buzzer-beater. Meanwhile, the Pacers did a great job dominating the boards, where they had a 56-39 advantage. If they can get fewer turnovers and Haliburton gets going early, they could be in a different position in Game 2.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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