Indiana Takes Game 3 In A Thriller

If you are one of those people who cares about ratings, I’m here to say they mean nothing. The
Indiana Pacers defeated the OKC Thunder 116-107, with this being the first finals game played
in Indiana in 25 years! This game was an absolute classic and one of the best finals games
since the 2021 finals. What many people thought would just be a free ring for the Thunder, has
now turned into a must win situation for their team coming up in Game 4 on Friday. This
Cinderella story continues as we witness it unfold right before our eyes.

When the game started off, The Thunder looked very sharp on both sides of the floor. Chet
Holmgren was getting buckets while also protecting the rim. It looked as if the Tyrese Haliburton
we saw in the first 3 quarters from the last 2 games would have the same result. That quickly
changed and he began to play more aggressively. The tone setters for the Pacers however was
the 2nd unit. Benedict Mathurin had a career game, finishing with 27 points in 22 minutes! This
is a guy who missed last year’s playoffs due to a shoulder injury. Once he was able to play in
this postseason, he sure made the most of it. T.J. McConnell also pushed the pace early giving
Indiana a chance to go on runs while Tyrese was on the bench. Jalen Williams and the MVP of
the league Shai Gilgeous- Alexander had an unusual start to the first quarter, especially
considering the defense being applied on the two stars. Indiana was throwing everybody at
those two specifically all game. Pascal Siakam was also another Pacer who showed some
offense, there’s a reason he won ECFMVP.

For the majority of the season, the Thunder seemed to be those annoying disruptors teams
hated to play against, Indiana returned the favor. The Thunder weren’t really too comfortable in
the half court and they had a lot of uncharacteristic turnovers throughout the game. Even with
the amount of mistakes the Thunder made, they still only trailed by 4 at the half. The halftime
broadcasters were giving their praise to McConnell and Mathurin, while also pointing out how
Halliburton being aggressive is exactly what the world was waiting for. Obviously he had that
game winner in Game 1, but besides that he struggled to really score and wasn’t even looking
to either.

Going into the 3rd quarter, SGA and J-Dub immediately got after it and gave the Thunder an
early lead in the quarter. Lu Dort was another guy who saw the ball go in the net, going 4-5 from
behind the arc. Haliburton though was just an annoyance on defense, ironic enough he was the
guy OKC tried to get on an island. Mathurin continued to score from everywhere on the court,
showing some flash of an old Pacer star Victor Oladipo. Sigh if only injuries weren’t a thing (he
blew his knee while on my Miami Heat). This game continued to go back and forth throughout,
with OKC taking the lead 89-84.

If you weren’t already convinced Mathurin wasn’t legit, the 4th quarter showed you otherwise.
He started the run for the Pacers to regain the lead. From that point on it was all Indiana. The
defense was just too much for the Thunder, who held SGA to only 3 points in the 4th, 24 points
for the entire game. There were 7 different defenders over the course of the game taking on the
assignment of guarding SGA, while also blitzing him off screens. Myles Turner came up big
defensively down the stretch as well, even after struggling offensively. Overall just an absolute
masterclass by the Pacers, with their bench stepping up in a much needed way.

Now heading into Game 4, how will OKC respond? We’ve seen this team lose and bounce back
the next game with adjustments. Neither of these teams have lost two games in a row in these
playoffs. Can Indiana continue with their “dark magic” or will the Thunder strike back and even
up this series.