{"id":144376,"date":"2025-06-12T06:04:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T10:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=144376"},"modified":"2025-06-12T08:59:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T12:59:28","slug":"thunder-vs-pacers-takeaways-nba-finals-game-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/12\/thunder-vs-pacers-takeaways-nba-finals-game-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Thunder vs Pacers: Five Takeaways from NBA Finals Game 3"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The intense Thunder vs Pacers showdown continues as <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/okc-vs-ind-0042400403\/box-score\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indiana has taken a 2-1 series<\/a> lead after a gritty victory in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The change of scenery may have played a huge role in that result. For starters, this isn&#8217;t a blowout. In fact, it was a close game of sorts, and the series seems to be heading for that narrative.<\/p>\n<p>Indiana fans were glad to see a deserved victory, especially after hosting their first NBA Finals game since 2000. The crowd was loud as it should be, and the fact that they were standing for the whole fourth quarter was just impressive. After all, you don&#8217;t always get a chance to be in the NBA Finals, and they made the most of it. The Pacers played off the crowd well, and they paid them back with a win.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">THE PACERS WIN THE FIRST FINALS GAME IN INDY IN 25 YEARS \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>THEY TAKE A 2-1 SERIES LEAD!! <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1kV5TuzNKl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/1kV5TuzNKl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1933000613761331496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Thunder vs Pacers: Five Takeaways from NBA Finals Game 3<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Pacers are just two wins away from their first NBA title (they had three in the ABA). But both teams still need to get back to the drawing board and cook up strategies. After all, the crucial Game 4 is right around the corner. Here are some key takeaways from the Pacers&#8217; impressive victory in Game 3.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_144403\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-144403\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-144403\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26429252_168414264_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26429252_168414264_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26429252_168414264_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26429252_168414264_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26429252_168414264_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26429252_168414264_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26429252_168414264_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26429252_168414264_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-144403\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jun 11, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers center Tony Bradley (13) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) go for the ball in game three of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>1. Indiana Dominated the Battle of the Bench<\/h3>\n<p>As we have discussed before, these two teams boast the best depth in the league. The Thunder are a supreme team in that regard, but so are the Pacers. So far, this remains the deciding factor in winning a game in the Finals. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/28\/indiana-pacers-playoffs\/\" target=\"_self\">Indy&#8217;s bench dominated<\/a> Game 1, and Oklahoma City&#8217;s bench responded in Game 2. In Game 3, however, it was a total domination by the home team. The Pacers scored 49 points off the bench to the Thunder&#8217;s 18. That is a stunning difference, with <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mathube01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bennedict Mathurin<\/a> dealing the most damage. He scored 27 points off the bench, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/45496551\/bennedict-mathurin-pacers-top-thunder-nba-finals-game-3\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">which is the most<\/a> in the NBA Finals since <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/terryja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jason Terry<\/a> in 2011. It is also the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/pacers-bennedict-mathurin-game-3-win-rare-feat\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most points scored<\/a> by a player in the finals in just 22 minutes or less.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bennedict Mathurin with a GAME-HIGH 27 points (9-12 FG) off the bench in the win \ud83d\udcaa <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FzlJzZLiny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/FzlJzZLiny<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Pacers\/status\/1933013466488373574?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mccontj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TJ McConnell<\/a> was also a menace on both ends of the floor, scoring 10 points and five assists. But most importantly, he had five steals as well. Three of those came from OKC&#8217;s sloppy inbound plays that resulted in a turnover and a bucket every time. That may be a small impact, but it was one of the big swings that had the crowd fired up.<\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/06\/thunder-vs-pacers-takeaways-nba-finals-game-2\/\" target=\"_self\">Indiana bench has been phenomenal<\/a> for most of these playoffs. They are stepping up when it matters most, and the Pacers are reaping the benefits of it. It was also quite a shocker that only three bench players played in the fourth for OKC. As it was in the first three games, the bench battle will remain one of the factors to watch in this Thunder vs Pacers series.<\/p>\n<h3>2. OKC Playing Uncharacteristically<\/h3>\n<p>Speaking of sloppy, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/09\/thunder-vs-pacers-five-takeaways-nba-finals-game-2\/\" target=\"_self\">this wasn&#8217;t the Thunder&#8217;s game to begin with<\/a>. A total of 18 bench points? Definitely not the OKC blueprint they&#8217;re winning with. Getting outscored 21-14 in points off turnovers? Something that&#8217;s never happened before. But most of all, having 17 turnovers is just absolutely nuts for a Thunder team. This is especially true becausw they have been so careful with the ball all season and were the ones inflicting this kind of damage. Oklahoma City is now 1-3 in Game 3s this postseason &#8211; but so are the Pacers.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You can\u2019t turn the ball over like OKC has and win Playoff games <\/p>\n<p>19 turnovers and 21 points for the Pacers off those turnovers. <\/p>\n<p>Just sloppy. <\/p>\n<p>The Pacers have been more aggressive all night<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndrewKSchlecht\/status\/1932999007804203445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The difference? Well, most teams are blowing out OKC whenever the home court shifts. Still, the battle of adjustments is really a thing for the Thunder, and they&#8217;ve been good at it. Still, giving up 17 turnovers and 21 points off them is not what led OKC to the big stage. There were plenty of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/06\/thunder-vs-pacers-takeaways-nba-finals-game-1\/\" target=\"_self\">unforced errors that seemed self-inflicted to begin with<\/a>, especially in the fourth quarter. On top of that, Oklahoma City wasn&#8217;t winning the 50-50 balls, which is something they usually dominate.<\/p>\n<p>They are not handling the ball well, which led to those 17 turnovers. The bench could not score key baskets, with <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wiggiaa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Wiggins<\/a>, who had a big Game 2, scoring none in the loss. There&#8217;s a lot of talk as to how they can turn this around, however, and it will take them more than just tweaks to win. After all, this is an Indiana team that they&#8217;ve just faced twice in the season, and have gone 3-2 overall, including the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n<h3>3. History Now Sides with the Pacers<\/h3>\n<p>While the Thunder remain favorites in the series, this showdown is now seeing Indiana favored by history. For starters, teams that take a <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.landofbasketball.com\/statistics\/playoff_series_2_1.htm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2-1 lead in the NBA Finals have won 79.4% of the time<\/a>, standing with a 50-13 record. That is something that should fuel <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/halibty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/07\/tyrese-haliburton-responds-to-critics\/\" target=\"_self\">play more and deliver elite performances<\/a> to carry his team to the big finish.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The 2015 Warriors had:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 MVP &amp; best record in the league<br \/>\u2022 a 2-1 comeback in the 2nd round<br \/>\u2022 a 2-1 comeback in the Finals<\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<p>The 2025 Thunder had:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 the MVP &amp; best record in the league<br \/>\u2022 a 2-1 comeback in the 2nd round<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re down 2-1 in the Finals right now\u2026 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PZyIiVcslk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/PZyIiVcslk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \ud835\udcdc\ud835\udcea\ud835\udcfd\ud835\udcfd \u2708\ufe0f (@mldiffley) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mldiffley\/status\/1933007534383587820?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Still, there&#8217;s optimism when it comes to the Thunder. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/12\/best-chance-okc-win-finals\/\" target=\"_self\">For starters, they are relatively young<\/a>, and if there&#8217;s anything about history in the NBA, it is that it gets broken from time to time. They have been responding whenever they have their backs against the wall. It is time to figure out what they can do about the roaring engines of Indiana, the struggles of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willija06.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Williams<\/a>, and how they can keep on answering the call.<\/p>\n<h3>4. The Championship Recipe<\/h3>\n<p>Well, over the course of the season, it was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/06\/okc-thunder-defense\/\" target=\"_self\">OKC that was getting the praise for its defense<\/a>. The Thunder are the top-rated defensive team in the league, but it was not the case in this Game 3 loss. The Pacers were doing more of the dirty work, blocking, stealing, and smothering shot attempts. Nothing is going to be easy for both teams moving forward. But defense is going to be an essential talking point for the last games left to play in the Thunder vs Pacers series.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell had five steals, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/turnemy01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Myles Turner<\/a> had five blocks, so it was easy to say that it played a factor. Oklahoma City turning the ball over 17 times also was not a good omen. In fact, it was Indiana playing with the same playbook that the Thunder used all season. They were the first to dive for the loose balls, and they wanted it more.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">T.J. McConnell tonight: 5 steals<br \/>Myles Turner tonight: 5 blocks<\/p>\n<p>It&#39;s been 24 YEARS since a pair of teammates did this in a Finals game \ud83e\udd2f<\/p>\n<p>Allen Iverson (5 STL) and Dikembe Mutombo (5 BLK) did this on June 6, 2001. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oU36ctLvSH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/oU36ctLvSH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1933023566494363872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What made this special is that Haliburton stepped up, flirting with a 22-point, 11-assist, and 9-rebound outing that could have been special. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/1Hk53L21gA\/?mibextid=wwXIfr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indiana is now 20-1<\/a> whenever he scores 20+ points and dishes out 10+ assists, which is certainly a huge boost to the team. It was a storied win, and now the clash of the two recipes for a championship is moving towards another level.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Deja Vu for OKC?<\/h3>\n<p>In Game 1, the Thunder lost by a stunner. In Game 2, OKC responded. Game 3? Well, guess what, it was a game where they fell short with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/19\/jalen-williams-heroics-game-7-good-sign-okc\/\" target=\"_self\">J-Dub as the leading scorer<\/a>. If this isn&#8217;t all too familiar for you, it is reminiscent of the Denver series. Now, OKC is down 2-1, as it happened in the West Semifinals. Come to think of it, the Thunder are 5-0 when it comes to games after a loss in these playoffs. If you want more positives for Oklahoma City, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gilgesh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> stands with <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask\/sga-game-4-record-with-okc\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a 6-0 record in all Game 4s<\/a> he&#8217;s played with the team. The 2024-25 MVP has averaged 29.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.0 assists on 45.7% shooting in those Game 4s.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Game 1 &#8211; Game winner on our head<\/p>\n<p>Game 2- Blowout<\/p>\n<p>Game 3- JDub has a good game and Shai doesn\u2019t<\/p>\n<p>\ud83e\udd14 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FrzZKp2SVp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/FrzZKp2SVp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Thunder Muse (@ThunderMuse_) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThunderMuse_\/status\/1933000392658546739?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It does seem that the pattern of the Thunder vs Pacers series is eerily similar to the Denver one. Now, OKC has to make sure that it ends well in their favor if they want to send this one back home tied at 2-2.<\/p>\n<p>The youth OKC exhibits means they are not bound by the norms of the NBA Finals, but also prone to mistakes. That remains to be seen when Game 4 comes in full swing.<\/p>\n<h3>What to Expect in Game 4?<\/h3>\n<p>The Thunder vs Pacers showdown in the 2025 NBA Finals will continue with Game 4 still in Indianapolis. At this point, it is safe to expect that OKC will play with more desperation in mind. After all, teams with a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals have won 97.4% of the time, with the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/cle-vs-gsw-0041500407\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2016 Cavaliers being the only one to beat the odds.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Still, 20.6% of teams in the NBA Finals down 2-1 that end up winning the chip. For now, it is one game at a time, and both teams are working their way to have the last word.<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: \u00a9 Kyle Terada-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The intense Thunder vs Pacers showdown continues as Indiana has taken a 2-1 series lead after a gritty victory in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The change of scenery may have played a huge role in that result. For starters, this isn&#8217;t a blowout. In fact, it was a close game of sorts, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5536,"featured_media":144401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,22],"tags":[50160,4303,4609,637,1489,3147,2607],"class_list":["post-144376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-thunder","tag-2025-nba-finals","tag-bennedict-mathurin","tag-jalen-williams","tag-myles-turner","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-tj-mcconnell","tag-tyrese-haliburton"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144376"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144423,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144376\/revisions\/144423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}