Keep track of the host Indiana Pacers' attempt to go up 2-1 on the favored Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
The OKC Thunder (68-14), the top seed in the Western Conference, are now tied 1-1 with the No. 4 Eastern Conference seed Indiana Pacers (50-32) and OKC is the prohibitive favorite. Game 3 shits to Indianapolis. Many feel OKC is back in control, while others feel the Pacers are due for a break out offensively.
FINAL: Pacers 116, Thunder 107
It wasn't exactly the comeback that Pacers fans have become accustomed to, but Indiana proved equally adept at keeping a lead as they are erasing one. Tyrese Haliburton fell on rebound short of a triple-double and tallied 22 points and 11 assists as is, facilitating a thrilling shutdown of the high octane Thunder. Overall, the Pacers' headliners came to play alongside the substitutes, who were paced (pun intended) by Mathurin, whose 27 points were tied for the third-most by a reserve in NBA Finals history. Elsewhere among the Pacer subs, Toppin was a team-best plus-18 amidst an eight-point, seven-rebound night while McConnell reached double figures with 10 points and five assists and steals each.
4th Quarter: Pacers 116, Thunder 107
0.0—The Thunder wave the white flag and the Pacers have taken a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-seven set.
7.3—Oklahoma City fails to foul and Siakam drives for two. (116-107 IND)
17.4—Nembhard's fifth foul sends Wallace to the line. He hits only one again. (114-107 IND)
27.0—A Caruso foul puts Mathurin at the line. He hits both, giving him 27. (114-106 IND)
27.6—Caruso and Dort nearly corner Mathurin, but the latter fouls. It's only possession as its the Thunder's first in the last two minutes.
35.7—Indiana comes up short on the possession, but they eat up good clock. Nesmith fouls Williams after the rebound. That's Nesmith's sixth and he's replace by Mathurin. Williams hits one of two again (112-106 IND)
1:00—Williams hits one at the foul line after a Nesmith foul. It's rebounded by Haliburton (112-105 IND)
1:09—After a Gilgeous-Alexander miss, Siakam squeaks by him for an easy two, putting the Pacers back up eight. Timeout Thunder. (112-104 IND)
1:56—Indiana turns the ball over but makes up for it with brilliant Turner defense on Holmgren, which gets possession back.
2:35—Caruso turns a steal of Haliburton into a fastbreak and is fouled hard by Nesmith. The play is being reviewed for a flagrant foul but is ruled not to meet such criteria. Caruso hits two. (110-104 IND)
3:04—A Nesmith corner three establishes the Pacers' largest lead of the game and series (110-102 IND)
3:23—Gilgeous-Alexander beats Nembhard for two after the timeout. Oklahoma City is assessed a delay of game warning (107-102 IND)
3:34—Toppin foul on the floor on a Gilgeous-Alexander rebound. Timeout Pacers.
4:24—Haliburton's miss off the backboard is slammed home by Toppin (107-100 IND)
4:51—Following an exchange of doubles, Nembhard's stepback puts the Pacers ahead by five (105-100 IND)
6:42—Haliburton crosses over Haliburton after his miss on the other end for a go-ahead three. Timeout Thunder (101-98 IND)
7:41—Williams immediately responds on the other end to tie (98-98)
8:02—Mathurin sinks a three, becoming just the 10th player in NBA Finals history to score 25 off the bench in one game (98-96 IND)
8:09—Gilgeous-Alexander goes to the line after a Nembhard foul, his fourth. He hits one. Nembhard stays in (96-95 OKC)
8:33—After Nembhard ends a brief Indiana scoring drought, McConnell steals another inbounds pass and ties the game (95-95)
9:44—Caruso finds Holmgren for two with the newly-awarded possession (95-91 OKC)
9:55—After the two sides exchange doubles, Oklahoma City challenges when Hartenstein is accused of deflecting a McConnell pass out of bounds. It's overturned, giving the ball back to the Thunder. (93-91 OKC)
11:23—Mathurin opens final period scoring with an and-one. He hits the freebie, giving him 20 points on the night. (89-87 OKC)
3rd Quarter: Thunder 89, Pacers 84
0.9—After McConnell's unsuccessful misfire, Williams hits his first three and the Thunder's 10th of the game to close scoring in the third (89-84 OKC)
34.7—Williams finds a streaking Holmgren in the pain for a dunking double and he gets one more tally on a McConnell foul (86-84 OKC)
52.2—Following Sheppard's legal contact on Gilgeous-Alexander, Mathurin goes to the line on a Caruso foul and sinks one (84-83 IND)
2:01—Gilgeous-Alexander and Siakam exchange doubles (the former earned after goaltending is called on Hartenstein (83-83)
2:50—Holmgren pressure on a Toppin fastbreak and a Dort offensive board leads to equalizing free throws for Gilgeous-Alexander (81-81)
4:50—Back to the lead go the Pacers on a Mathurin two (81-79 IND)
5:08—Indiana's first turnover since the opening period yields an equalizing three from Caruso (79-79)
5:42—Haliburton's three gives the Pacers the lead and leads to a Thunder timeout (79-76 IND)
6:39—Following Siakam free throws, Dort ties the game with his fourth three in as many attempts (76-76)
7:08—Gilgeous-Alexander immediately makes up for it with a three (74-73 IND)
7:30—Haliburton intercepts a Gilgeous-Alexander pass and turn it into a dunk (74-70 IND)
7:51—Turner hits a jumper to put the hosts ahead again (72-70 IND)
8:04—Wallace hits an equally difficult double tie it (70-70)
8:18—Haliburton's drive endures a contact but he hits it to give the Pacers the lead (70-68 IND)
8:57—A deep corner two from Nesmith ties the game again (68-68)
9:31—After another Williams floater, Turner gets the Pacers on the board in the second half with free throws on a Gilgeous-Alexander foul (68-66 OKC)
10:37—Gilgeous-Alexanders befuddles Nesmith on a stepback, leading to a Thunder lead and a Pacers timeout (66-64 OKC)
11:01—Williams scores again to tie the game (64-64)
11:32—The second half begins with the Pacers turning a Gilgeous-Alexander rejection of Nesmith into a Williams double (64-62 IND)
Halftime: Pacers 64, Thunder 60
Depth stars rule the day for the Pacers, as reserves put in 30 points. McConnell's showing proves particularly impressive despite only six points, as his packed box score (4 assists, 3 steals, and a rebound) matches the 14 Mathurin points in terms of impact. The Pacers' foul trouble, however, should only raise Oklahoma City's aggressiveness: three Pacer starters (Nembhard, Nesmith, Siakam) have three fouls, which could be exactly what top scorers Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren are looking for as they seek easy baskets.
2nd Quarter: Pacers 64, Thunder 60
0.0—After an exchange of doubles, the Pacers take momentum into the locker room with a successful fadeaway for McConnell while Gilgeous-Alexander misses a double at the deadline.
1:02—Now Siakam has three fouls, as Williams goes back to the line. He hits two this time. Toppin enters for Siakam (60-58 IND)
1:21—Siakam hits two at the line to create a two-possession lead again (60-56 IND)
1:31—Nesmith also picks up his third foul, this one sending Williams to the line. He hits one and Nesmith sits for Mathurin. (58-56 IND)
1:47—Haliburton's three puts the Pacers back ahead (58-55 IND)
2:14—Exchange of doubles between Hartenstein (off a feed from Gilgeous-Alexander) and Haliburton (55-55)
2:54—McConnell's misfire leads to another Gilgeous-Alexander drive but Siakam immediately re-ties it (53-53)
3:27—Gilgeous-Alexander goes coast-to-coast after a missed Sheppard three and ties the game. Timeout Indiana. (51-51)
3:50—Williams responds to more bench antics from the Pacers (a Sheppard drives) with a three-point play (51-49 IND)
4:22—Oklahoma City cuts the lead to one possession after a Caruso three and a free throw from Williams sandwiches a Haliburton floater. Thunder are likewise in the bonus (49-46 IND)
5:36—Indiana faces some foul trouble of its own despite the lead, as Nembhard leaves with his third foul.
5:47—Further bench press antics keep the Pacers rolling, as Toppin finds Mathurin, who converts a successful and-one on a Dort foul. It creates Indiana's largest lead in the series to date (47-42 IND)
6:05—Mathurin reaches double-figures and gives the Pacers the lead back on a Joe foul. Pacers are in the bonus for the rest of the half (44-42 IND)
6:31—Nembhard and Joe exchange triples and keep the score tied (42-42)
7:12—Following a timeout, Isaiah Joe stems the bleeding with an equalizing three (39-39)
8:18—Mathurin's drive creates two more. Indiana is in the midst of an 11-2 run (39-36 IND)
8:58—Following an Aaron Wiggins foul, the Pacers get their first lead of the night on McConnell free throws (37-36 IND)
9:21—Indiana doesn't immediately capitalize and loses two on a Wallace double, but a corner three from Mathurin (seven points in three minutes) leads to a Thunder timeout amidst a one-point game (36-35 OKC)
9:42—McConnell once again goes assist-to-steal, finding a driving Aaron Nesmith for two before stealing another from Wallace (34-32 OKC)
10:28—Mathurin adds two more on a jumper after Holmgren free throws (34-30 OKC)
11:26—After Siakam opens second periods scoring with a layup, TJ McConnell intercepts a Wallace pass, which leads with a Bennedict Mathurin double and four quick points (32-28 OKC)
1st Quarter: Thunder 32, Pacers 24
0.0—Scoring wraps with a de facto free throw contest: Gilgeous-Alexander hits two while Holmgren and Siakam each go one-of-two.
1:25—Back-to-back doubles for Gilgeous-Alexander sandwich another two for Toppin (29-22 OKC)
2:45—Dort immediately responds with another three (25-20 OKC)
3:01—Back-to-back threes from Turner and Haliburton shrink the gap to a possession (22-20 OKC)
4:35—Holmgren sits for Isaiah Hartenstein while Turner returns. Dort his second three out of the timeout (22-14 OKC)
4:50—Haliburton turns an interception of a Williams pass into a double for Toppin, and Oklahoma City calls timeout (19-14 OKC)
5:08—Tyrese Haliburton gets on the board via floating double (19-12 OKC)
5:41—Oklahoma City re-establishes the nine-point lead on a Holmgren dunk from Alex Caruso
6:02—Following an Obi Toppin foul (after he scored upon his own entry), Holmgren reaches double figures with two at the line (17-10 OKC)
7:21—Out of the time, Ben Sheppard enters for Turner and ends the mini Oklahoma City run (15-8 OKC)
7:36—Holmgren sinks a contested stepback, leading to a nine-point and a timeout for the hosting Pacers (15-6 OKC)
8:49—A Siakam spin lead to another double but Dort sinks a three off a feed from Wallace (13-6 OKC)
9:17—Holmgren hits two at the line after Turner's first foul following a dunk that interrupted an exchange of doubles between Siakam and Williams (10-4 OKC)
10:31—Pascal Siakam gets Indiana on the board (4-2 OKC)
10:42—Jalen Williams puts back a missed Cason Wallace dunk (4-0 OKC)
10:57—Holmgren floats in a double to give Oklahoma City the first lead (2-0 OKC)
11:39—Luguentz Dort holds Pascal Siakam, giving Oklahoma City two early fouls.
11:52—Eight seconds in, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is called for an offensive foul after a tangle-up with Andrew Nembhard.
12:00—Chet Holmgren wins the tip against Myles Turner, and the game is underway.
Pregame
Starting Lineups
THUNDER: Luguentz Dort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams
PACERS: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Injuries
THUNDER: Nikola Topic (Out, ankle)
PACERS: Isaiah Jackson (Out, Achilles tendon), Jarace Walker (Out, Ankle)
Line: OKC -5.5
O/U: 228.5
Officials: Tony Brothers, James Capers, Tyler Ford (alternate: Courtney Kirkland)
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
