The Indiana Pacers provided one more show for the home crowd by blowing out the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6. It sets up the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 2016.
The NBA Finals have been remarkably entertaining, with segments of every type of game you could imagine.
There have been offensive explosions, defense struggles, big moments from both stars and bench players. The biggest consistent has been inconsistency, so, coming into Game 6, it seemed like nothing would surprise us.
Yet, when the teams took the court, there was one more shock in store, as the Indiana Pacers dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder with relative ease in a 108-91 victory that forced a winner-take-all finale on Sunday night back at the Paycom Center.
After it looked like the Thunder had the series figured out late in Game 5, the Pacers proved this series was far from over. Indiana outscored OKC 36-17 in the second quarter 36-17 and led by 22 at halftime and 30 after three quarters.
The Pacers came into the series as massive underdogs but have shown throughout they are a worthy opponent and not just a sacrificial lamb. The Eastern Conference champions lost two straight winnable games and had their best player suffer a calf injury that left him as a game-time decision for Game 6.
Lesser teams would’ve packed it in when the Thunder started strong in the first few minutes, but the Pacers didn’t get to this point by being one of those lesser teams. They got here by breaking the will of opponents with relentless movement and effort and did it again to a Thunder team that seemed unbreakable for most of the Finals.
Far From Home
When the Thunder have struggled this postseason, it has been away from home, where they finished just 5-5 with the season ending Sunday night.
It’s not always true that role players struggle away from home, but it certainly was for the Thunder in Game 6.
#NBAFinals At the half, Thunder players other than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams have 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting.
— Opta Analyst US (@OptaAnalystUS) June 20, 2025As is usually the case in blowouts, the winning team was exceptional, and the losing team played poorly. The Oklahoma City role players missed some open shots, but the Indiana defense was the best it has been all Finals.
Weirdly, it was great defense on the Thunder’s star players that led to struggles from the role players. Jalen Williams got a couple of easy looks driving to the basket early, but then the faucet was turned off. The Pacers forced Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into tough shots without having to rotate too dramatically.
They still made tough baskets because they’re elite players, but, by staying out of rotation, the Pacers didn’t allow easy shots to complementary players.
Gilgeous-Alexander did have 21 points, but this was easily his least impactful game of the series, as he managed just two assists. He also had eight turnovers, which tied his season high in the regular season or playoffs.
Myles Turner has struggled defensively at times against the Thunder, but he was at his best in Game 6. His corralling of SGA in the pick-and-roll was much more in lockstep with the perimeter defenders around him, and he was a physical presence near the basket as well.
Tyrese Haliburton shook off any concerns that his defense would suffer due to his calf injury and put forth one of his best efforts of the postseason. He had two steals and was very active off the ball.
It was a complete team effort from the Pacers on the defensive end that highlighted how far they’ve come. They were always likely to be a good offensive team with Haliburton and the talent around him, but their growth defensively has them one win away from a championship.
Top to Bottom
The Pacers once again looked like the deeper team, with T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin changing the game off the bench.
McConnell stuffed the stat sheet again with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Toppin led the Pacers with 20 points off the bench. The former Dayton Flyer did what he does best, nailing four 3s, running the floor and providing energy at every turn.
The Thunder, meanwhile, got next to nothing from their bench. Alex Caruso was a non-factor on offense and didn’t make the impactful defensive plays that are so integral to his game. Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace couldn’t help the cause much, either.
All season long, the Thunder have relied on having an elite 1-2 punch complemented by a great third star and the deepest team in the league. But the Pacers have looked like the deeper team in the Finals.
Because OKC’s bench has struggled and Chet Holmgren has been ineffective (four points on 2-of-9 shooting in Game 6), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams have had to carry a heavy burden in this series.
One More Time
The good news for the Thunder is that their 68-win season earned them Game 7 at home, where they are 10-2 in the postseason. They’ll have to shake off a brutal shooting performance (26.7% on 3-pointers in Game 6), but they’ve already shown the ability to do that in these playoffs.
The Pacers have shown resiliency all postseason long and found a way to win the math game in Game 6. They shot more 3s, hit a higher percentage of them, turned the ball over less and got more offensive rebounds.
If they can do all of these again, it’ll be hard for the Thunder to win.
With one more game left in the season, the Pacers need to pull off one more surprise to walk away with the first championship in franchise history. And they showed us in Game 6 that there is still room for surprises at the end of this riveting series.
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NBA Finals: Pacers Quiet Thunder, Force Improbable Game 7 Opta Analyst.
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