SportsOrbit

Indianapolis — There is a new spirit in the 2025 NBA Finals, at least among those in this storied and proud basketball state. The Indiana Pacers are leading the championship series and want to create their own Hoosiers story. How realistic is it versus the No. 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder? Any ambitious aim must begin with a large step, as was done Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and perhaps that footprint left an effect on OKC. It was Pacers 116, Thunder 107, and the game had a twist. In the first two games, the Pacers led by fewer than two minutes each. What about this time? Once the lead was taken with six minutes remaining, it was never lost, and here we are. Tyrese Haliburton and Benedict Mathurin off the bench, as well as Myles Turner’s rim protection late in the game, proved too much for OKC. For once, the Pacers played a more complete game and defeated the Thunder at their own game, which included defense, depth, and, at times, dominance. In the process, the Pacers broke their Game 3 jinx, having lost all three such games in the playoffs prior to Wednesday. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stated: “Hard things are hard. Our guys have made the investment, and it is an ongoing process. It’s like a fantastic marriage; it requires a lot of effort.” So far, Indiana’s efforts are yielding results. Speaking of work: With the Thunder down a game in this series, nothing feels safe for them, not even a simple inbounds pass. (Hi, T.J. McConnell!) Here are five key lessons from the Pacers’ momentum-shifting victory: 1.Shai finally quieted down. They did not shut down the MVP. To be honest, considering Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s season — and his continued performance — it does not seem fair. However, this was a clear success for Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, and the Pacers, who demonstrated a different strategy and prevented him from becoming a one-man demolition. “You’re consistently trying to mix things up because if you give any good player the same look over and over, it can be really tough,” he added. He was largely ineffective on Wednesday, the first timid performance by Gilgeous-Alexander in this series. No 30-pointers this time, no soul-crushing run of buckets to steal momentum, no consistent visits to the free throw line, none of that. Just six turnovers and 24 points, which Indiana will take at any time. The sight of Gilgeous-Alexander working up a sweat to extract himself from the Pacers’ hands was unusual. Indiana brought help high in the pick-and-roll, which seemed to freeze him at times and hamper his mobility. He started slowly (six points in the first quarter) and finished with only one bucket in the fourth. Gilgeous-Alexander had moments. He simply didn’t have a game. Carlisle stated, “He’s the MVP.” “You just need to attempt to make things harder. And, you know, we just have to keep platooning people onto him and try to keep our soldiers fresh in some way.” Have the Pacers figured him out? In the Eastern Conference Finals, they faced up against Jalen Brunson of the Knicks. Brunson has a similar technique and originally put the Pacers on red alert. But as the series continued, he worked considerably harder. Carlisle and Nembhard, who serve as the first line of defense, share this ambition. To capture this series, they seek and most likely need to answer the Gilgeous-Alexander enigma. Wednesday was either the start or a brief speed bump. “I’ll clean everything up and try to be better for this basketball team come next game,” Carlisle told the crowd. 2. Mathurin’s math adds up In a best-of-seven championship series, there is always an unexpected source of production, typically from the bench. It may be Alex Caruso one day and Aaron Wiggins or Obi Toppin the next. Game 3 was won by the Pacers’ Mathurin, who was a walking bucket on this night and caused problems for OKC’s typically reliable defense. His mandate was clear: get the ball and shoot it. And he fulfilled his duty. Let us see: 27 points in 22 minutes? Shooting 9-for-12 and 7-for-8 from the free throw line? Dare we say Mathurin was the best Canadian on a floor shared with Gilgeous-Alexander? And he didn’t even play during the first quarter? Well, once Carlisle put him in, he stuck with him. Mathurin was so effective and meant so much to an Indiana squad that thrived on his intensity. “Just whenever my number is called, go into the game and do the right things and try to help my team win,” Mathurin told the crowd. “That’s the whole mindset.” He missed last season’s playoffs due to a labrum injury, so he was restless. He waited a year for his turn, which came on Wednesday. 3. McConnell takes the show! McConnell reflected the Pacers’ urgency and enthusiasm through a sequence of blurs, putting his signature hustle on display in this contest. “T.J. brought a competitive will to this game,” Carlisle remarked. “He’s a guy who inspires our team a lot.” He stole three inbound passes from made Indiana baskets. Those had a devastating effect on the Thunder, resulting in more points for the Pacers. In one sequence, he drove to the hoop, passed to Toppin for a layup, and stole the inbound pass. Another such steal resulted in a Pascal Siakam shot. It missed, but McConnell collected the rebound and assisted. McConnell played 15 minutes, recording five steals (three in a lively second quarter), 10 points, and five assists. The crowd was pumped, and so were his teammates. “He did a great job of consistently getting there and making hustle play after hustle play, and sticking with it, and I thought we did a great job of just feeding off of what he was doing,” Haliburton told the media. 4. Tyrese is powerful from the outset. Haliburton was noticeably absent from the previous Finals games’ opening halves. He scored nine points in 24 minutes, and the Pacers trailed for much of that time, including a 20-point deficit in Game 2. He agreed he needed a better start and that being more aggressive was crucial. That didn’t mean Haliburton had to force shots — that’s not his style — but rather cause problems for OKC’s defense. Mission completed. Haliburton, who had 12 points and seven assists in the first half, contributed to the Pacers’ four-point lead at halftime while shooting 55 percent. He added bounce, attacked the basket at times, controlled the pace, and drew the double-team, which freed the floor for his teammates and helped them get open shots. “I thought his approach tonight was exactly what it need to be, a combination of spatial awareness and aggression, and you know, a real good feel for aggression to score along with getting his teammates involved at the right times,” Carlisle told ESPN. Haliburton finished with 22 points (4-for-8 from deep), 11 assists, and nine rebounds, nearly a triple-double, thanks to a first half in which he was motivated to be more impactful. “I’m just trying to play the right way,” said the opponent. “This means everything to me, and I’m happy to be here. But I think it’s vital not to overreact at any time.” 5. OKC has been in this position previously. It’s simple: the Thunder must win three out of four games to claim the NBA championship. The next game is in Indianapolis. In the previous three rounds leading up to the Finals, the Pacers lost only four games. This is reason enough to be concerned for a 68-game regular season winner. But panic? OKC did not play in the Western Conference semifinals against the Nuggets, so why start now? Regarding the Denver series, OKC lost the opening game and trailed 2-1, much as this series thus far. Each time, the Thunder responded emphatically. They won by 43 points in Game 2, then tied the series in Game 4 with a courageous five-point triumph in which they refused to give up in the fourth quarter. So, here they are again. OKC appeared prepared to seize control of this Game 3 in the final 52 seconds of the third quarter, when they turned a one-point deficit into a five-point advantage. Jalen Williams was the mastermind behind it, assisting on a Chet Holmgren slam before hitting a 26-footer at the buzzer. This time, the Pacers had all of the fourth-quarter answers. Turner shut down Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander scored once in the fourth, and Oklahoma City was outscored 32-18. Overall, the Thunder committed 19 turnovers, which was unprecedented for them. That was it. “I thought they were in character in terms of physicality, their pressure on defense,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Then they were in character in terms of their pace on offense.” Friday’s slate is clean (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). In the Finals, each game develops its own identity. What was obvious one night may fade the next. Those are all soothing words for a club hoping to avoid falling behind 3-1, which would spell disaster. Panic? In such a case, it would almost probably come up in conversation. “The great thing is we have another game coming up,” Holmgren stated. “We can’t think about irritation or anything. The focus cannot be on your emotions, no matter how good or horrible things are. It must be focused on what we want to accomplish – the work at hand.”