At the Buzzer: R4G3 — Pacers 116, Thunder 107 | Back in Front
Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points off the bench, T.J. McConnell sparked a second-quarter surge, and the Pacers forced 19 turnovers to beat the Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Indy had waited 25 years for this moment.
It had been 9,126 days since the Indiana Pacers last hosted an NBA Finals game.
Exactly 25 years to the day after they beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the 2000 Finals, the Pacers were back on their home floor — this time with the Oklahoma City Thunder in town and their focus just as sharp.
“I just know Gainbridge is going to be rocking,” said Myles Turner, the longest-tenured Pacer, after Game 2. “I love our environment.”
For those in attendance, it wasn’t a cheap ticket. When Finals tickets went on sale, they started around $800 and quickly climbed into the thousands — but still sold out in a hurry.
These are two cities with diehard fan bases, and no one is taking this moment for granted.
With the series tied 1–1, the stakes couldn’t be higher. First to three more wins will be crowned NBA champion.
The game officials were James Capers, Tony Brothers, Tyler Ford, and Courtney Kirkland (alternate).
For Ford, it was his NBA Finals debut. He’s a graduate of Ball State University.
Jarace Walker (right ankle sprain) remains out, but he was walking without the crutch he used the past few days. And crutches several days before that.
The ESPN announcing crew — for the entire series: Mike Breen, Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson, and Jorge Sedano. He moved over from sideline ESPN Radio as Lisa Salters missed her second game in a row due to personal reasons.
Indy native Vanessa Richardson, the sideline reporter for the Houston Rockets, filled in for Sedano on radio.
Sports books favored the Thunder by 5.5 points.
Watch my live postgame show in the media player below:
🏀How it happened: The Pacers shot nearly 52%, got 49 points from their bench, outscored the Thunder in the paint, and forced 19 turnovers in a 116–107 win in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. It was a strong bounce-back performance — though Indiana still hasn’t played a complete game this series.
They leaned on their champion, Pascal Siakam, early. He scored the first six points on 3-of-4 shooting, but Lu Dort drilled his first four 3s to ignite the Thunder. The Pacers quickly fell behind 15–6 — their largest deficit of the night — prompting an early timeout by Rick Carlisle. Back-to-back 3s from Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton got them back in it, but they still trailed after the first quarter for the third straight game, 32–24.
(Carlisle shared after the game that Turner was under the weather and not feeling well. But he made up for it late.)
Carlisle used four reserves in the opening frame, but not Bennedict Mathurin. That changed in the second. Mathurin exploded for 14 of his game-high 27 points in under 10 minutes. Indiana opened the quarter on a 15–4 run — and had led for less than two minutes combined across Games 1 and 2 — before grabbing control.
This is where the Pacers flipped the game, and their bench did what it’s done all season: dominate. T.J. McConnell was everywhere, helping force six turnovers and intercepting three inbounds passes that all led to scores.
That’s why their Game 2 bench performance was so jarring — because they’re capable of much more. At one point, it was 19–0 in bench points. On this night, the Pacers’ reserves outscored OKC’s 49–18. Mathurin alone outscored them.
Foul trouble was a concern late in the second quarter as Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Siakam each picked up three fouls. Still, the Pacers took a four-point lead into the break after a 40-point quarter, capped by Mathurin’s surge and McConnell’s fadeaway just before halftime.
The Thunder opened the third with an 8–0 run and ended it with a 6–0 spurt, taking a five-point lead into the fourth. It was a game of swings — 15 ties, nine lead changes — and finally, the first truly competitive 48-minute Finals game we expected.
Pat McAfee — the former Colts punter turned sports show host — was handed the mic during a successful Thunder challenge and timeout, firing up the sellout crowd of 17,274. At the time, OKC led 93–91.
From that point on, the Pacers outscored them 25–14.
Moments later, after a Nembhard jumper, McConnell jumped the inbounds pass for a layup to tie it at 95. Turnovers piled up for the Thunder, and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remained stuck below 30 points — rare for him. The Pacers used a 16–5 run to take the lead for good.
By then, the Thunder were running on fumes — and SGA looked gassed.
Obi Toppin added to the highlight reel with a putback dunk, then a block on the other end. Nesmith buried a right-wing 3 that earned a “BANG!” call from Mike Breen. And Turner sealed it with two blocks on Chet Holmgren after OKC had trimmed it to six with two minutes left.
McConnell was huge. Mathurin was special. And Haliburton was one rebound shy of a triple-double: 22 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists.
Although OKC has led more minutes in this series, the Pacers have never trailed in it. They won by nine — their largest lead of the night — and still haven’t fallen behind in a series this postseason, despite being heavy underdogs.
🏀What it means: The Pacers take a 2–1 series lead and maintain home-court advantage with another game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday.
🏀Turning point: It came early — but the second-quarter burst from the Pacers' bench was the springboard. They scored 22 of Indiana’s 40 in the frame, more than OKC’s reserves scored all game. That 23–10 start to the quarter set the tone for the night.
🏀Star of the game: Bennedict Mathurin. In the biggest game of his young career, the 22-year-old became the youngest player to score 25+ off the bench in a Finals game since the stat was first tracked in 1970–71.
Mathurin finished with 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting, hit 7-of-8 at the line, and grabbed four rebounds in just over 22 minutes.
🏀Streaking: The Pacers haven’t lost back-to-back games since March 10. They are 9-1 in clutch games this postseason.
🏀Stat(s) of note: Indiana won Game 3 this postseason for the first time (was 0-3).
The Pacers improved to 20-1 this season when Haliburton posts 20+ points and 10+ assists.
McConnell became the first bench player to have at least 10 points, five assists, and five steals in a finals game since steals were first recored in 1974.
Turner recorded five blocks and passed Jermaine O'Neal to become the franchise's playoff leader in blocks with 124 & counting.
It was SGA's lowest-scoring game (24) this series and since he scored 14 in a Game 3 loss to the Timberwolves. Still, OKC had three double-figure scores: Jalen Williams (26) and Holmgren (20).
OKC got just eight combined points from Alex Caruso (8) and Aaron Wiggins (0) after they combined for 38 in Game 2.
Carlisle coached his 169th playoff game, passing Red Auerbach for 10th-most in NBA history.
🏀What’s next: Game 4 of the NBA Finals is Friday, June 13 in Indianapolis. It will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Other Notes
2:35 4Q: Defensive foul on Nesmith upheld at a common foul after Caruso went down hard. It happened as the Pacers had their largest lead of the game (8).
9:55 4Q: Successfull challenge by the Thunder on an out-of-bounds call. It was ruled Thunder ball.
Wonderful gesture by the radio voice of the team, Mark Boyle to slide over and give TV voice of the team, Chris Denari, an opportunity to contribute to an NBA Finals broadcast since league broadcast partners take over after Round 1.
Boyle on Twitter: “Just because he foolishly chose TV over radio doesn’t mean he shouldn’t experience The Finals. He’s earned it.”
Deal or No Deal *supercharged* for the NBA Finals. A Pacers fan won $10,000 — the largest single-game winner I can remember at a Pacers home game — during an early timeout in the second quarter.
The Pacers were in their yellow Statement Edition uniforms, and the Thunder wore blue. It was a Gold Out — with the t-shirt reading: “But this is Indiana!”
Another incredible lineup of Pacers alums in the building: Reggie Miller (wearing a Mark Jackson jersey), , Darren Collison, C.J. Miles, Ron Artest, Lance Stephenson, Mark Jackson and surely others I’m missing. Great work by Karen Atkeson & others in player relations.
Others in the stands: Nancy Leonard, Oscar Robertson, Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Natasha Howard, Lexie Hull, Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald, Makayla Timpson, Terry Crews, Edgerrin James, 2025 Indy 500 champion Alex Palou, Jimmy Goldstein, Raptors super fan Nav Bhatia.
The Pacers are 8-0 this season with Clark in the arena.
John Haliburton was back courtside, sitting in Tyrese's four seats on the baseline.
Official attendance: 17,274 — a sellout.