The Indiana Pacers forced a Game 7 with the Oklahoma City Thunder behind a stunning blowout victory in Thursday’s must-win contest, in which they led by as many as 31 points. Everything went right for the perceived underdogs in the 108-91 win, which Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said is a double-edged sword: it kept their season alive, but also created narratives that his squad must tune out before Sunday’s decisive battle.
Haliburton, who entered Game 6 with a questionable tag amid his battle with a calf strain, evoked college football coaching legend Nick Saban’s “rat poison” mantra.
“For the next two days, everybody’s going to be talking about how good we looked, how well we played, how much pressure is on OKC,” Haliburton said on ESPN. “That’s going to be the narrative. We gotta do a good job of staying away from that stuff. I think that can be poison. If we do a good job of just kind of staying within ourselves in the locker room, I think that’s very important for us in these next couple of days.”
The Pacers earned every bit of their praise. In a must-win situation, they played their best basketball of the series and drilled 15 3-pointers while wreaking havoc on the defensive end of the floor. They stifled the Thunder with 19 points off 21 forced turnovers and prevented the visitors from chipping away at their comfortable lead.
A dominant second quarter sent the Pacers into the halftime break with a 22-point lead, and they built onto that advantage before both teams pulled their starters. TJ McConnell was a catalyst with another stellar performance off the bench in which he tallied 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Haliburton logged 14 points and five assists and had plenty of time to rest his calf as the Pacers only tasked him with 22 minutes of action before the game was comfortably in control.
“We did some really good things tonight that we can build off of,” Haliburton said. “But you gotta understand, it’s Game 7. There’s no such thing as a ‘pretty’ Game 7. They’re usually ugly bloodbaths, figure it out. That’s what it’s about; we gotta go in and just figure it out. These guys are going to play hard. They make shots at a higher clip at home. Their crowd is amazing.
“I’m excited, man. This is why we do what we do. This is the peak, the pinnacle of our sport,” he continued. “To do that with these guys in this locker room, I’m so excited about it.”
The NBA will crown its 2025 champion in Game 7, which is set for Sunday night in Oklahoma City with an 8 p.m. ET tip.
This news was originally published on this post .
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