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The host Indiana Pacers rolled to a blowout 108-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday night, forcing a winner-take-all contest Sunday night in Oklahoma.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, whose status was in doubt due to a calf strain, started the game and played xx minutes, scoring 14 points before resting in the fourth quarter.
Obi Toppin led the Pacers off the bench with 20 points. Andrew Nembhard had 17 points, and Pascal Siakam scored 16 points and grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. T.J. McConnell gave the Pacers a big boost off the bench with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
“We just wanted to protect home court,” Haliburton said. “We didn’t want to see these guys celebrate a championship on our home floor. Backs against the wall and we just responded. … Total team effort.”
Facing their first elimination game in the playoffs, the Pacers rose to the occasion before an enthusiastic home crowd, building a 22-point lead at halftime and increasing it to 30 at the end of the third quarter, 90-60.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points for the Thunder, who pulled their starters early in the the fourth quarter. Jalen Williams added 16.
“Credit Indiana,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They earned the win. They outplayed us for most of the 48 minutes. They went out there and attacked the game.”
Game 7 will be the first one in the NBA Finals since 2016. Good news for the Thunder: home teams are 15-4 in the ultimate game to decide a title. Bad news for the Thunder: Cleveland won at Golden State in the most recent NBA Finals Game 7 and one of the three other home-team losses was in 1978—by Seattle, the franchise that would move to Oklahoma City three decades later.
Indiana missed its first eight shots and got down 10-2. The arena, roaring just a few minutes before at the start, quieted quickly. Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, sitting courtside in a Jalen Rose Pacers jersey, was pacing, kneeling, generally acting more nervous than he ever seemed as a player.
No need.
After the slow start, the Pacers outscored the Thunder 68-32 over the next 24 minutes. An Indiana team that hadn’t led by more than 10 points at any time in the first five games—and that double-digit lead was brief—led by 28 early in the third quarter. The margin eventually got to 31, which was Oklahoma City’s second-biggest deficit of the season.
The worst also came in these playoffs: a 45-point hole against Minnesota in the Western Conference finals. The Thunder came back to win that series, obviously, and now will need that bounce-back ability one more time.
The Thunder, desperate for a spark, put Alex Caruso in the starting lineup in place of Isaiah Hartenstein to open the second half. There was no spark. In fact, there was nothing whatsoever—neither team scored in the first 3:53 after halftime, the sides combining to miss their first 13 shots of the third quarter.
Indiana 108, Oklahoma City 91
Holmgren 2-9 0-0 4, Jal.Williams 6-13 4-5 16, Hartenstein 3-4 4-4 10, Dort 1-5 0-0 3, Gilgeous-Alexander 7-15 7-8 21, Dieng 1-3 0-0 3, Jay.Williams 2-3 1-2 7, Jones 2-2 0-0 4, K.Williams 1-2 0-2 3, Caruso 0-2 0-0 0, Joe 3-4 3-3 11, Mitchell 1-4 0-0 2, Wallace 1-4 0-0 2, Wiggins 1-4 2-2 5. Totals 31-74 21-26 91.
INDIANA (108)
Nesmith 3-8 2-3 10, Siakam 6-14 3-3 16, Turner 1-9 1-2 3, Haliburton 5-12 1-1 14, Nembhard 5-7 4-4 17, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Toppin 6-12 4-6 20, Bradley 1-2 1-2 3, Bryant 1-2 1-2 4, Mathurin 1-6 0-0 2, Furphy 0-0 0-0 0, McConnell 6-12 0-2 12, Sheppard 3-7 0-0 7. Totals 38-92 17-25 108.
| Oklahoma City | 25 | 17 | 18 | 31 | — | 91 |
| Indiana | 28 | 36 | 26 | 18 | — | 108 |
3-Point Goals_Oklahoma City 8-30 (Jay.Williams 2-3, Joe 2-3, Dieng 1-2, K.Williams 1-2, Wiggins 1-4, Dort 1-5, Caruso 0-1, Gilgeous-Alexander 0-1, Mitchell 0-1, Wallace 0-1, Holmgren 0-3, Jal.Williams 0-4), Indiana 15-42 (Toppin 4-7, Nembhard 3-5, Haliburton 3-7, Nesmith 2-6, Bryant 1-2, Siakam 1-3, Sheppard 1-4, Turner 0-3, Mathurin 0-5). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Oklahoma City 41 (Holmgren 6), Indiana 46 (Siakam 13). Assists_Oklahoma City 14 (Mitchell 4), Indiana 23 (McConnell 6). Total Fouls_Oklahoma City 20, Indiana 17. A_17,274 (20,000)
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