Indiana Pacers Vooruit Obi Toppin (1) celebrates with Forward James Johnson (16) during the second half of game 6 of the NBA Finals Basketball Series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Thursday 19 June 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indianapolis-Obi Toppin scored 20 points, Andrew Nembhard added 17 and the Resilient Indiana Pacers sent the NBA Finals to a winner-take-all game 7 by rolling past the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 on Thursday evening.
Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, while Tyrese Haliburton – playing through a tense calf – scored 14 points for the Pacers, who slowly started and then changed things into an eruption.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points for the Thunder, who pulled their starters after they had gone down with 30 in the fourth. Jalen Williams added 16.
Game 7, the first in the NBA final since 2016, is on Sunday evening in Oklahoma City. Good news for the Thunder: Thuisteams are 15-4 in the ultimate game to determine a title. Bad News for the Thunder: Cleveland won in Golden State in the most recent NBA Finals Game 7 and one of the three other loss of home team was in 1978-through Seattle, the franchise that would move to Oklahoma City three decades later.
: Tyrese haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers is celebrating a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter in Game Six of the NBA Finals from 2025 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on 19 June 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP
Indiana missed the first eight shots and came 10-2. The Arena, roaring a few minutes earlier at the beginning, was quickly silence. Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, sitting at the court in a Jalen Rose Pacers sweater, walked on, knelt and traded generally more nervous than he once seemed like a player.
No need.
After the slow start, the Pacers defeated the Thunder 68-32 for the next 24 minutes. An Indiana team that had never led through more than 10 points in the first five matches and double digits were short-guided by 28 early in the third quarter. The margin eventually came to 31, which was the second largest shortage of the Oklahoma City season.
The worst also came in these play-offs: a hole of 45 points against Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder clearly came back to win that series, and will now need Bounce back capacity again.
The Thunder, desperately looking for a spark, placed Alex Caruso in the starting setup instead of Isaiah Hartenstein to open the second half. There was no spark. In fact there was nothing at all – none of the teams scored in the first 3:53 after the break, the parties that combined to miss their first 13 shots of the third quarter.
TJ McConnell, the Bank’s spark, ended again with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Indiana.
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