Being saluted by the home fans after delivering the first Finals win to your city in a quarter century.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
June 12, 2025
Home Cookin’: Pacers rally to win the first Finals game in Indiana in 25 years
Indy Ignitition: How McConnell & Mathurin flipped Game 3 off the bench
Quiet Storm: Indiana’s defense slows SGA and OKC’s high-powered offense
On The Ground: Experience the electricity of 17,000+ Hoosiers fueling a Pacers dub
Unforgettable: Gary Payton’s 2006 Game 3 winner – 17 years in the making
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Game 4 on Friday…
This afternoon, both teams will meet with the media – with live coverage on the NBA App beginning at 1:30 ET – as they prepare for Friday’s critical Game 4 (8:30 ET, ABC).
1. A FINALS WIN 25 YEARS IN THE MAKING
The electricity flowing through the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd was enough to power all of Indiana on Wednesday night.
Hosting a Finals game for the first time in 25 years, the 17,274 fans packed inside the arena gave every last bit of their collective energy to fuel the Pacers to their first Game 3 victory of the 2025 Playoffs.
Pacers 116, Thunder 107: Behind Tyrese Haliburton’s near triple-double (22 pts, 11 ast, 9 reb) and a dominant bench performance sparked by Bennedict Mathurin (game-high 27 pts) and T.J. McConnell (10 pts, 5 ast, 5 stl), the Pacers took a 2-1 lead in the Finals. | Recap
- “We love playing in front of our fans. We love being here. They deserve high-stakes, high-level basketball, and we’re giving them that right now.” – Haliburton after the Game 3 win
The Pacers needed that energy as Oklahoma City jumped out to an early nine-point lead and led by eight after the 1st quarter.
- Game Changers: Enter Mathurin (14 pts) and McConnell (6 pts, 4 ast, 3 stl) who came off the bench to ignite a 2nd-quarter Pacers rally while eliciting deafening decibel levels from the Indy faithful
- Indiana put up a 40-piece in the 2nd quarter – its highest-scoring quarter of the Finals and 3rd-highest of the Playoffs – to take a four-point lead at the break
- Haliburton, who had 9 pts and 6 ast in the 1st halves of Games 1 & 2 combined, got off to a strong start in Game 3, entering halftime with 12 pts and 7 ast
- He finished with his 21st 20/10 game of the season (reg+post). Indy is now 20-1 in those games
Back & Forth: In Games 1 & 2, OKC led for 91:23 of the 96 minutes played, while Indy led for just 1:53.
Game 3 was a different story – with 15 ties, nine lead changes and no double-digit leads for either team.
- Thunder Answer: OKC closed the 3rd quarter on a 13-5 run, capped by a 3 from Jalen Williams with 0.8 seconds left to give the Thunder a five-point lead entering the 4th
- Familiar Territory: As the Pacers have proven all postseason, no lead is safe against them. Indy outscored OKC 32-18 in the final frame, as the crowd erupted with every Mathurin bucket, McConnell steal and Myles Turner block
- Another One: While this game didn’t require a last-second game-winning shot, it was Indiana’s fourth win when trailing entering the 4th quarter this postseason – second only to NY’s five
- Mathurin Makes History: The 22-year-old wing became the youngest player to score 25+ points off the bench in a Finals game since bench stats have been recorded in 1970-71
Postseason Perfection: With the win, the Pacers improved to 14-0 when scoring 110+ points, 7-0 with Haliburton scoring 10+ in the 1st half and 5-0 following a loss in this year’s Playoff run (10-0 dating back to March 11 in the regular season).
- The Pacers improved to 7-2 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse this postseason and will look to take a 3-1 lead when Indy hosts Game 4 on Friday (8:30 ET, ABC)
- As Wednesday showed, the fans will be ready
- “This crowd has been standing most of the 4th quarter. They’ve waited 25 years for a Finals game at home … They are celebrating here in Indianapolis!
- “Their Pacers’ dream of their first NBA title is very much alive! They’re two wins away from a championship!” – ABC’s Mike Breen on the call after Game 3’s final buzzer
2. IGNITING INDY: McCONNELL & MATHURIN’S GAME-CHANGING SPARK
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
T.J. McConnell hooked around a screen at full speed and charged toward the rim. All five Thunder defenders’ eyes turned to the smallest player on the floor — so he dished it to a cutting Aaron Nesmith for an uncontested layup. The crowd erupted.
But McConnell wasn’t done.
As Jalen Williams received the inbound, McConnell pounced, punching the ball out, chasing it down and flinging it off Cason Wallace’s leg while falling out of bounds.
Pacers ball. Gainbridge Fieldhouse exclaimed again as McConnell roared. And Mike Breen stated what every basketball fan was thinking:
- “T.J. McConnell doing T.J. McConnell things right now.”
An undersized and undrafted guard, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound McConnell hasn’t carved out a 10-year NBA career by accident.
He’s done it with grit, feel and a motor that doesn’t quit — famously picking up ball-handlers full court for a decade straight.
- “At this time of year, you have to play with a certain attitude,” said Rick Carlisle last month. “You have to play with a defiance. It’s kind of defined T.J.’s 10-year career in the NBA.”
That defiance was on full display in the 2nd quarter of Game 3, where McConnell scored or assisted on 11 of the Pacers’ first 13 points – capped by two free throws to give Indy its first lead of the night.
- Immediate Impact: By the half, McConnell had 6 points, 4 assists, 3 steals and was a team-best +15 — igniting the crowd and helping Indy grab its first halftime lead of the series
- “We really needed that boost, especially in that 2nd quarter,” said Haliburton postgame. “Second unit came in and brought energy. When T.J. gets those steals, the building really gets into it … our second group really won us the game.”
Heart & Heat: At 33, McConnell is the oldest player in Indy’s rotation, a second-unit spark who’s spent a career turning hustle into impact.
At 22, Bennedict Mathurin is its youngest, a fearless scorer who missed last year’s Playoff run entirely.
On Wednesday night, they came together off the bench to flip Game 3.
- Benn Boost: After leading all players with 14 points in the 2nd quarter on 5-of-6 shooting, Mathurin poured in a game-high 10 in the 4th to secure the win
- Special Company: With 27 points on the night, he became just the fifth player in Finals history to score 25+ at age 22 or younger this century – joining Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James
- T.J. Alone: Meanwhile, McConnell became the first reserve to post 10+ points, 5+ assists and 5+ steals in Finals history
- Indy Ignition: Together, the duo more than doubled OKC’s entire bench in scoring, 37-18
Now, the two glue guys that epitomize Indiana basketball have their team two wins shy of an NBA title.
- “Those guys were tremendous,” said Carlisle postgame. “T.J. just brought a will – a competitive will to the game. Mathurin jumped in there and immediately was aggressive…
- “This is the type of team we are … we need everybody to be ready. It’s not always going to be exactly the same guys that are stepping up … But this is how we’ve got to do it – and we’ve got to do it as a team.”
3. QUIET STORM: INDY’S DEFENSE SLOWS OKC IN GAME 3
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The Pacers constructed a fortress and dared the Thunder to try and enter.
At times down the stretch, it seemed impenetrable; blocks aplenty, steals galore, turnovers everywhere.
Indiana’s defense was no more fortified than in the 4th quarter Wednesday night. The unit surrendered just 18 points to OKC, marking the fewest scored by the West champs in any final frame this postseason.
- Calming The Storm: Coach Rick Carlisle’s crew racked up 13 steals and 11 blocks on the night – each Playoff bests – as the Pacers’ magical Playoff run kept on rolling
- Shai Solution: A deep defensive effort also helped to slow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had carried a four-game 34+ point streak into Game 3. He was held to 24 on 45% shooting – both series lows for the Kia NBA MVP
- Magic Number: Indiana improved to 33-4 (8-1 in the Playoffs) when holding opponents to 110 points or less this season
Indy’s defense helped flip a five-point 4th-quarter deficit to a nine-point win thanks to total buy-in from top to bottom – from its stars to its bench.
- Off & Running: Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton each tallied two steals and one block as Indy outscored OKC 21-14 in points off turnovers
- Night To Remember: T.J. McConnell totalled five steals across the first three rounds of the postseason. Wednesday, he alone was responsible for five – a Playoff career-high
- Always Lurking: In the 4th, McConnell snagged his third stolen inbound pass of the night – and final steal of the game – by plucking an Alex Caruso pass off the baseline and dropping it in for an easy 2
Myles Turner, the Pacers’ longest-tenured player, added to the festivities by throwing a one-man block party – contesting shots at the perimeter and in the paint.
- On Both Ends: Asserting himself late in the 4th, Turner drove to the basket for a layup and promptly ran back to reject Chet Holmgren on the ensuing possession
- Quick Redemption: Up six with just over two minutes left, Turner denied Holmgren twice for a key defensive stop to protect the lead
Together, McConnell and Turner became the first duo since Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo in 2001 with five steals and five blocks, respectively, in a Finals game.
4. ALL-ACCESS: ON THE GROUND FOR AN EPIC NIGHT IN INDY
“It’s going to be magnetic,” said ESPN personality and longtime Indianapolis Colt Pat McAfee on Game 3. “Indiana loves the sport of basketball…
“So the fact that we’re in the Finals and we’re hosting a Finals game for the first time in 9,126 days – you can feel the electricity radiating through the entire city.”
And from the moment fans started lining up to flood Gainbridge Fieldhouse in a sea of yellow – Indy proved him right.
- 25 Years In The Making: ‘Let’s go Pacers’ chants broke out hours before tip-off inside the arena as fans eagerly awaited to take their seats
- Hali Amped: Tyrese Haliburton pulled up to Gainbridge with a good feeling: “I’m excited. I think the energy is gonna be crazy today.”
- OKC Locked In: The Thunder arrived focused and unified ahead of their first Finals road game
- A Thief & A Legend: Reggie Miller and Player Correspondent Dyson Daniels, a First Team All-Defensive guards, broke down the importance of Indiana’s Game 3 win
- Routine Greatness: Follow SGA through his pregame routine – from warmups to his nightly autograph session before a moment of quiet at his locker
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Then came the noise. With Reggie Miller, Oscar Robertson, Terry Crews, Caitlin Clark and other big names courtside, Gainbridge Fieldhouse was deafening moments before tip-off.
48 minutes later, the building was celebrating its first Finals win in a quarter century.
- Epic Call: Listen to South Korean SPOTV’s electric call of Obi Toppin’s putback jam to help seal the win
- Hali Mic’d Up: “I won’t miss two in a row … C’MONNNN!!!”
- Mentor & Mentee Moment: Haliburton and Reggie Miller share a heartfelt embrace after the huge win
- For The Fam: Mathurin hugs his family after the W – “This is who I do it for.”
- “It lived up to the hype,” said Haliburton on Indy’s atmosphere for Game 3. “The fans were amazing … the energy in there was amazing … get ready to go for Game 4.”
5. UNFORGETTABLE: GARY PAYTON’S FINALS MOMENT & LONG-AWAITED TITLE
Down 2-0 in the 2006 Finals and trailing late in Game 3, the Heat’s championship hopes hung by a thread.
But a 13-point 4th-quarter rally changed everything – capped by a shot from a player who hadn’t taken one all night.
With less than 15 seconds left and the score tied at 95, Dwyane Wade (42 pts) lost his dribble and handed the ball to Jason Williams, who found 17-year veteran Gary Payton open on the wing.
In his third Finals appearance and seeking his first championship, Payton, 37, received the pass, pump-faked and without hesitation rose up – nailing the go-ahead jumper with 9.3 ticks left.
Miami went on to win 98-96 – its first of four straight victories to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Here’s how Payton remembers the shot and what finally winning a title meant to him — alongside teammate and close friend Alonzo Mourning:
“[Then Heat Head Coach] Pat Riley told me before the timeout, ‘You gotta do something big for me. You gotta do something big.’ And people don’t understand, I hadn’t even shot the ball all game. All game…
As soon as Jason Williams came around and found me … I said ‘I’m gonna take this shot. And I’m gonna make this shot.’ And I did – and it took us over the top…
“As soon as we won it in Dallas and that ball went up in the air and that clock went off, I looked for [Alonzo] first – because I knew what me and him had went through. We waited so long to get that championship. We sacrificed a lot…
“He was the first person I talked to when I got to Miami (in 2005) … he said, ‘C’mon… let’s do it … we got a shot here’ … And we became closer and closer because I was the oldest one on the team and he was the second…
“As soon as we got that championship, we both held that trophy in the locker room together and he poured champagne on me and I poured champagne on him. It was a great feeling – because we finally did it.”
