2025 NBA Finals: Biggest takeaways from Thunder-Pacers Game 6
Three minutes into Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle strode onto the court and called a timeout. Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams had just completed a dunk, and the Pacers were down 8-2.
For a moment, it looked like the beginnings of OKC's coronation as NBA champions, even in the hostile environment of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Pacers had missed their opening six shots, a streak that eventually grew to eight.
But Pascal Siakam hit a free throw line jumper and then a circus and-1 layup. Andrew Nembhard buried back-to-back 3-pointers. Indiana erased an eight-point Thunder lead and stormed in front. And instead of a back-and-forth contest, the Pacers' early surge was a precursor of an onslaught.
Rather than this night being about Oklahoma City finally celebrating a championship after years of close calls and a dominant regular season and playoffs, it became a celebration of how this Pacers team, yet again, defied expectations.
The Pacers did it the same way they have so many times before: with a collective effort. Tyrese Haliburton, playing despite a calf strain, was one of six players to score in double figures after missing all six shots he took in Game 5 in Oklahoma City. Indiana had seven players make at least one 3-pointer, and became the first team in NBA history to have at least eight players score at least 200 points in a postseason -- showing off the balanced attack that has made the Pacers such a tough opponent to beat.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, couldn't have looked worse in its first Finals closeout game. MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a postseason career-high eight turnovers. Only three players (Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein) scored in double figures. The Pacers obliterated the Thunder in the possession game, finishing with 18 more shots.
As a result, this series is headed back to OKC for the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 2016 -- one of the greatest games ever played: The Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors at Oakland's Oracle Arena.
That game cemented LeBron James's legacy, bringing Cleveland its first championship and completing a series comeback from down 3-1 against the 73-win Warriors. Who knows what Sunday's 48 minutes will bring? But after Game 7, either Oklahoma City or Indiana will hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time. -- Tim Bontemps
For a moment, it looked like the beginnings of OKC's coronation as NBA champions, even in the hostile environment of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Pacers had missed their opening six shots, a streak that eventually grew to eight.
But Pascal Siakam hit a free throw line jumper and then a circus and-1 layup. Andrew Nembhard buried back-to-back 3-pointers. Indiana erased an eight-point Thunder lead and stormed in front. And instead of a back-and-forth contest, the Pacers' early surge was a precursor of an onslaught.
Rather than this night being about Oklahoma City finally celebrating a championship after years of close calls and a dominant regular season and playoffs, it became a celebration of how this Pacers team, yet again, defied expectations.
The Pacers did it the same way they have so many times before: with a collective effort. Tyrese Haliburton, playing despite a calf strain, was one of six players to score in double figures after missing all six shots he took in Game 5 in Oklahoma City. Indiana had seven players make at least one 3-pointer, and became the first team in NBA history to have at least eight players score at least 200 points in a postseason -- showing off the balanced attack that has made the Pacers such a tough opponent to beat.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, couldn't have looked worse in its first Finals closeout game. MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a postseason career-high eight turnovers. Only three players (Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein) scored in double figures. The Pacers obliterated the Thunder in the possession game, finishing with 18 more shots.
As a result, this series is headed back to OKC for the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 2016 -- one of the greatest games ever played: The Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors at Oakland's Oracle Arena.
That game cemented LeBron James's legacy, bringing Cleveland its first championship and completing a series comeback from down 3-1 against the 73-win Warriors. Who knows what Sunday's 48 minutes will bring? But after Game 7, either Oklahoma City or Indiana will hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time. -- Tim Bontemps