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Haliburton leads Indiana past OKC as Pacers take 2-1 lead in NBA Finals

Written by Pavel Kateliev
Pavel Kateliev
Pavel Kateliev is a popular sport journalist, particularly in the fields of football, basketball, tennis, and hockey. He writes daily for Sportingpedia and his work has been translated into at least 20 languages and featured on renowned outlets such as BBC, Yahoo, MCN, Sun, and Evening News, in Italian, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
, | Updated: June 12, 2025
« Oklahoma City Thunder dominate Indiana Pacers to tie NBA Finals series 1
Miles Turner attempts to block Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lay-up

    Key Takeaways:

  • Indiana regained the lead in the NBA Finals with a home win over Oklahoma City
  • Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 27 points in a game of momentum shifts
  • The decisive fourth quarter gave Indiana a 2-1 series advantage ahead of Game 4

Indiana Pacers beat Oklahoma City Thunder 116:107 in Game 3 of the Finals in front of their home crowd and took a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals, which is played in a best-of-seven format.

Once again Tyrese Haliburton was the leader of the team, remaining 1 board shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists. Twenty-five years after their only lost final against Los Angeles Lakers, the Pacers delivered a high-level performance for their loud supporters. The team is now just two wins away from a historic first NBA title ahead of Game 4, which is scheduled for Friday and will also be played in Indianapolis.

“We love playing in front of our fans. They deserve the best basketball – what we are giving them right now. We want to build on this big win” commented Haliburton after the victory.

Indiana won the opening game after an incredible comeback and a buzzer-beater, but this time the team played on par with Oklahoma City throughout and was better in the closing minutes.

The Pacers led 64:60 at halftime, but Thunder went ahead after the third quarter with 89:88, and everything was decided in the final quarter. A little over seven minutes before the end, the teams were tied at 98:98, but a Haliburton three-pointer and a dunk by Obi Toppin over Luguentz Dort gave the hosts a seven-point lead.

Pascal Siakam was very effective with his back to the basket and scored 21 points, while Indiana’s win came mostly thanks to its bench, which scored 49 points compared to just 18 from Oklahoma City’s backups. Canadian Bennedict Mathurin also made a strong contribution from the bench with 27 points, as did backup point guard T.J. McConnell with 10 points, 5 assists, and 5 steals.

Regular season MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was limited to 24 points, while Oklahoma City’s top scorer was Jalen Williams with 26.

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 Author: Pavel Kateliev

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