Pacers regain NBA Finals lead over Thunder

▲ Indiana's Mathurin led his team to retake the lead in the finals. AP Photo

Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Thursday, June 12, 2025, p. a30

Indianapolis. Benedict Mathurin led his team with 27 points off the bench, and Tyrese Haliburton added 22 as the Indiana Pacers reclaimed the lead in the NBA Finals with a 116-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3.

Indiana, which lost Game 2 at Oklahoma a few days ago, improved its record to 10-0 since mid-March in games following a loss. Several players contributed at different times and were key, said Haliburton, one of the Pacers' leaders.

For the Thunder, Jalen Williams led the way with 26 points, followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 24, and Chet Holmgren with 20. Oklahoma held a five-point lead going into the fourth quarter but couldn't hold on. Game 4 will be played again in Indianapolis on Friday night.

History now favors the Pacers because in the previous 41 NBA Finals, which were tied 1-1, the team that won Game 3 went on to win 33 times, or 80.5 percent of the time.

Fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis witnessed a close and exciting duel from start to finish, at times worthy of the history books. There were 15 ties throughout the game. To put this into context, last year's Finals between Boston and Dallas had only 13 total over five games.

TJ McConnell contributed 10 points, five assists, and the same number of steals for Indiana. Since these statistics have been recorded, no reserve has achieved that combination in a Finals game.

“We had guys who came through again and again,” Haliburton added. “Our second unit was sensational.” With less than three minutes left, Aaron Nesmith committed a hard foul on Alex Caruso, leading to a lengthy review by the officials to determine if it deserved to be called a flagrant foul. Ultimately, it was ruled a common foul, and Caruso was awarded only two free throws.

The Pacers, playing an NBA Finals game at home for the first time in 25 years, maintained their composure and control until the end.