2025 NBA FINALS: #1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #4 Indiana Pacers (IND leads 2-1)

[Castle Black]

Great game from Indy but they still have to win Game 4 if they want any chance at winning this series and OKC doesn't lose back-to-backs. They only did it twice all season and haven't done it this postseason. They'll win Game 4 and the series. Same thing that happened to them against Denver. They've been here before. They're not worried. I expect a huge game from SGA in Game 4.

[WarriorGM]

Man, Pacers mean business!

They are going to take this in 6!

Also, that was a really fun and entertaining game to watch! Real hoop fans rejoice!

This thread only up to 63 pages for the finals seems a little underwhelming. It seems real hoops fans not that many.

[Mavrelous]

Man, Pacers mean business!

They are going to take this in 6!

Also, that was a really fun and entertaining game to watch! Real hoop fans rejoice!

This thread only up to 63 pages for the finals seems a little underwhelming. It seems real hoops fans not that many.

This is the 3rd or 4th Finals thread.

[Chuck Everett]

SGA is Bosh level. wow.. !?

Crazy right.

[ArksNetsSince99]

OKC is still in a good spot to win game 4. I think this series will go 6 or 7.

That’s what Knicks said after game 3 , we know the rest of that series

[ArksNetsSince99]

Ho. Lee. Chit.

That was an amazing night. Pat McAfee was my neighbor where I was sitting. I ran into a streamer I watch after the game, American Dad. Dude tried to buy my shirt Refused to take it after I recognized him.

Was an absolute blast of a night.

Two games. TWO.

Game was bananas, surely amazing experience for you and Pacers won

[The Corey's]

Beat the defending champs, lost to the eventual champs after being in the mix to knock them out too......not a bad look. Hope Knicks don't Knick and dismantle the squad for some disgruntled superstar...they need to run it back.

In what world were the Knicks in competition to beat the pacers?

They weren't even close.

in what world is losing a series in 6 close games not even close?

Was the Celtics and Knicks close? I've been told it wasn't.

The Knicks were firmly not in that series.

[fanofthegreats]

Sga is trash

[Marvin Martian]

Man, Pacers mean business!

They are going to take this in 6!

Also, that was a really fun and entertaining game to watch! Real hoop fans rejoice!

This thread only up to 63 pages for the finals seems a little underwhelming. It seems real hoops fans not that many.

They don't care unless LA, NY or BOS is involved

[Mk0]

Man, Pacers mean business!

They are going to take this in 6!

Also, that was a really fun and entertaining game to watch! Real hoop fans rejoice!

This thread only up to 63 pages for the finals seems a little underwhelming. It seems real hoops fans not that many.

They don't care unless LA, NY or BOS is involved

Isn't this like the 3rd thread?

[Hoop Hunter]

Turner has not played all that great offensively in the finals, but....

Myles Turner is only the 2nd player with 40 Blocks and 30 3pters in a single postseason. (2016 Draymond Green)

[Edrees]

the 2011 Mavs are a greater team than 2025 pacers.
The Mavs had future HOFs and all star players on their team. Its not close.

Would pacers be better if they traded any starter for a washed up jason kidd or shawn marion? No way. It's completely disengenious to say Mavs had future HOF's when those players were both no longer HOF level players well past their primes.

It's like Jokic must be bad becuase he can't win with future HOF Westbrook while Haliburton isn't playing with any Hall of Famers, guess Jokic has the better teammates.

Yes Kidd and Marion were past primes but they still had a big impact on the series and their experience played a factor.
If the Mavs were to play the Pacers in a series the Mavs would win.

Experienced just made up for the fact that were slower and older, so it wasn't a big advantage. If you replaced them with some of the role players that the Pacers have as starters, it would be a wash. You lose experience but get much better, quicker, athletic and better shooting players.

That may be true but it has nothing to do with whether Kidd or Marion were HOFers. How good those players used to be 10 years prior to that series has nothing to do with how good the Mavs were or weren't. You can make a case that Mavs are the stronger team and I wouldn't disagree but I just think the HOF status is irrelevant to that and is an attempt to make them seem better than they were.

If you said "Mavs had two past their prime HOFers who were instrumental" which is a 100% true statement, then I would have no issue with it.

[Wingy]

I don't think Daignault's wrong, but maybe time to change back to 2 bigs for a change of pace.

He was absolutely dead wrong.

The mind and confidence is obviously an enormous part of the game. He showed their team, his own team, and everyone else he was scared before a single second ticked off the clock. He conceded well before he had to.

It's the closing part they've had issues. In 4th he could've played any lineup he wanted. You think double bigs would've won them games in 4th quarter this game? Or in game 1? They won 1st halfs of those games. Pacers' quickness and mobility are the issue. Boards aren't an issue - OKC have more boards in 2 of 3 games. Having Hartenstein would leave a big in the paint to help defend SGA or JW driving into the paint. With Chet they can space out 5, more room to operate. they don't need paint protection because Pacers aren't really a driving to the bucket in half court team. They are a jump shooting team and Pascal shoots mid range.

Pulls out Tatum “I guess we’ll never know” clip.

Thibs changed and went double big to positive effect against this Pacer team. Of course only Hartenstein is ‘big’ compared to the size of KAT and Robinson, and neither OKC guy is quite like Robinson so I’m not going to claim A could exactly = B…but he didn’t even give it a chance.

What’s to say they don’t win first halves or quarters by even more starting big, and having Wallace be more effective off the bench? Or that just because they’ve out-rebounded them, it doesn’t mean they couldn’t have widened that margin even more to their own benefit?

Not sure why it should be assumed all things stay the same regardless of who Daigneault started.

I’ll say one thing - OKC players are mostly young and still proving their playoff mettle. They have looked shaky at various moments throughout the playoffs. Adjusting immediately shows a lack of confidence in who you are and what you’ve done right from the jump. I don’t like the mix of the former + the latter when it’s the Finals or any series really…terrible call from a psychological standpoint.

Concession should NOT come from your coach before the ball is ever tipped.

The tone has already been set, and even now if he goes back to default, the already bold Pacers have only been further emboldened. Can’t put that genie back in the bottle now.

[Rainwater]

Naw would still take this Pacers win over what Dallas did. What Dallas did was amazing but they did have a bonafide superstar in Dirk and a great roles players. Don't think there is a player on Dirk's level on the Pacers.

Halliburton is quickly rising to superstar level though.

I wouldn’t call haliburton a superstar, I would put him on the same level as a Bulter. The pacers win because they win as a team. That team is truly 8 or 8 deep. Anyone can go off.

[AussieCeltic]

If someone told me OKC shot 45% from 3 and took 30 free throws, I would’ve said they win by 10+.

Incredible performance by Indy

[boomershadow]

Turner has not played all that great offensively in the finals, but....

Myles Turner is only the 2nd player with 40 Blocks and 30 3pters in a single postseason. (2016 Draymond Green)

It seems to me Turner, whose shooting has certainly improved, still can be very hot or cold. He has gotta get hot one game and really stick it to OKC.

[Lalouie]

Great game from Indy but they still have to win Game 4 if they want any chance at winning this series and OKC doesn't lose back-to-backs. They only did it twice all season and haven't done it this postseason. They'll win Game 4 and the series. Same thing that happened to them against Denver. They've been here before. They're not worried. I expect a huge game from SGA in Game 4.

yup. it cannot be 2-2 with 2of3 in okc
indy needs 3-1 to win g6 @home

g4's are always key but it's critical for indy

[PlatinumState]

Stick a fork in these finals cause its done

[wang000hk]

The best thing about Pacers is that they are also a young team so they could always come back to try again in next few years if they don't win it all this year
All core pieces are already locked for 2-3 more years, only Myles Turner is becoming FA this off-season

But I hope they win the championship this year, it would be very nice to have a team playing beautiful team basketball to win it all and form a dynasty if possible

[RB34]

With all the defensive attention on him, it’s crazy Hali didn’t shoot a single FT. Some clear missed calls, .35 left in the 4th was egregious.

Are we starting to see the dynamism of the Pacers offence wearing on OKC? Keeping up this kind of defensive intensity against a team like Indiana is a tough ask.