INDIANAPOLIS — After receiving Tyrese Haliburton’s deep pass, Pascal Siakam didn’t need to do much in the one-on-one situation. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attempted the steal and once that failed, Indiana’s second-best player converted the transition layup to seal the result.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s frustrations finally boiled over in a 116-107 Game 3 loss to the Indiana Pacers. They’re right back to playing catch-up in the 2025 NBA Finals with a 2-1 series deficit.
After starting strong, the Thunder eventually crumbled in the final moments. Meanwhile, the Pacers stepped up at the biggest moments once again. That’s been their narrative throughout the playoffs and has continued despite a change in competition.
Everything went right for the Thunder to start. Chet Holmgren was a scoring machine. The role players didn’t look frightened. They built a 32-24 lead after the first quarter. That was despite Gilgeous-Alexander’s slow start.
The vibes quickly changed in the second frame. The Pacers got hot. They tore apart the league’s best defense. Indiana’s role players stepped up while OKC’s bench was nonexistent. Backed by a loud crowd, the Pacers scored 40 points in the frame to completely rewrite this game’s script.
The Thunder entered halftime under a 64-60 deficit. A blessing considering how badly they were outplayed. The Pacers thoroughly dominated the frame and were the much better team. To only be down by four points was considered a win.
It looked like the Thunder would take advantage of that. Jalen Williams got in a groove with back-to-back buckets to open the second half. Gilgeous-Alexander soon followed. Just like that, they opened the second half with the first eight points. to retake the lead.
This was the best the Thunder looked all game. They scored 29 points in the frame. Williams capped it off with a nasty stepback 3-pointer in the final seconds. After three quarters, OKC held an 89-84 lead over Indiana. After a bit of rockiness, things appeared to be in firm control. Until they weren’t.
The Pacers didn’t need long to tie it up. On a third bad inbound pass, TJ McConnell made something out of nothing with a layup. The Thunder called avoidable turnovers like that touchdowns. Let’s just say they were killed on go routes all game long. And then gave up the two-point conversion for the cherry on top.
McConnell’s steal-and-score tied it up at 95 points apiece with a little under nine minutes left. They juiced the Indiana crowd. The Pacers’ role player had his Alex Caruso moments. After both teams exchanged buckets, Indiana created distance on the scoreboard with seven straight points to make it a 107-100 score with a little under five minutes left.
The Thunder were stuck in the mud the rest of the way. Not only did they miss shots, but the quality of those attempts was flat-out bad. The Pacers forced OKC to taste its own medicine with shutdown defense as it won the fourth quarter, 32-18, to seal the Game 3 win.
The Thunder shot 47% from the field and went 10-of-22 (45.5%) from 3. They shot 23-of-30 on free throws. They had 16 assists on 37 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander was limited to 24 points and eight rebounds. Williams stepped up with 26 points and six rebounds. Holmgren had a 20-point double-double. Lu Dort scored 12 points all on outside makes.
Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 52% from the field and went 9-of-27 (33.3%) from 3. They shot 19-of-22 on free throws. They had 24 assists on 44 baskets. Four Pacers players scored double-digit points.
Haliburton finished with 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Siakam went off for 21 points, six rebounds and four assists. Bennedict Mathurin was an unlikely hero with an efficient 27 points off the bench. McConnell also helped with 10 points, five assists and five steals.
This was a bit of a role reversal for both sides. The Pacers became a steal machine. They won the possession battle and shut the Thunder’s offense down in the final moments with great defense. Meanwhile, the Thunder almost won from good outside shooting, but too many inexcusable turnovers ruined that benefit. The defense also had too many slip-ups in the final moments.
We have ourselves an NBA Finals. Viewed as a lopsided affair at first, the Pacers have shown they can square off against the heavy title favorite Thunder. Now it’s the latter’s turn to return the favor and split its road trip with Game 4. They enter a must-win scenario or risk being on the verge of an all-time upset.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C-minus
Matching up against Siakam, Gilgeous-Alexander’s signature pull-up mid-range jumper clanked off the rim. A couple of seconds later, he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A lazy steal attempt was enough for Siakam to score the dagger.
Don’t tell Gilgeous-Alexander which game of a playoff series is Game 3. He finished with 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting, eight rebounds and four assists. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 5-of-6 on free throws. He also had three blocks.
Throughout the playoffs, Gilgeous-Alexander has had the habit of having a stinker like this. He was due against the Pacers. The jumper abandoned him. He couldn’t finesse his way through traffic to score efficiently inside the paint. The free-throw numbers weren’t what they usually are.
While the box-score stats didn’t pop off, Andrew Nembhard had Gilgeous-Alexander running on fumes in the fourth quarter. An impressive feat considering how much he’s dominated Indiana all year. This was the best they’ve looked on that end of the floor this series.
For Gilgeous-Alexander, he couldn’t take over down the stretch. In a one-possession game with a handful of minutes left, you can’t dream up a better scenario. You want the MVP winner to be on your side at the NBA’s highest stage. He couldn’t deliver as OKC’s offense froze up.
The Thunder will need Gilgeous-Alexander to be better. It’s been said multiple times throughout the playoffs, but Game 4 will be the biggest in OKC’s SGA era. He’s delivered before in similar situations. He must do it again. These are the situations you put yourself in when you let Game 1 slip away the way it did.
Jalen Williams: A
Seeing Aaron Nesmith on him, Williams danced side to side before he settled for a stepback 3-pointer. The outside attempt swished in with less than a second left in the third quarter. It looked like the Thunder had all the momentum with a frame left.
This will go down as another bittersweet performance. Williams finished with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting, six rebounds and three assists. He shot 1-of-2 from 3 and went 7-of-11 on free throws. He also had one steal.
Dealing with a wrist ailment, Williams abandoned his jumper. He resorted to bully-ball and drove past several defenders to get to the rim. The plan worked. Indiana didn’t have anybody to contain him. He either finished through contact or went to the free-throw line.
After a while, Williams found a groove. He set the tone with two straight buckets to start the second half. He did enough to secure a Game 3 win with his best NBA Finals performance yet.
It’s a shame most of his best scoring outings these playoffs have come in losses. This was the latest example after two subpar games. If he can carry this over into Game 4, the Thunder should have a decent shot to even the series again.
Chet Holmgren: B-minus
Backpedaling beyond the perimeter, Holmgren received Williams’ drive-and-kick. As he wound up to take an outside attempt, Myles Turner closed out fast enough to block the look. That exemplified how everything went for the Thunder in the final moments.
Holmgren finished with 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 10 rebounds and two assists. He shot 0-of-6 from 3 and went 8-of-9 on free throws. He also had one steal.
Everything looked promising at the start. Holmgren was featured often. He swished in a mid-range jumper that forced the Pacers to call the first timeout. It was one of the seven-footer’s best scoring stretches in the playoffs. He had 13 points after the first quarter.
Then Holmgren faded into the background. He only had seven points the rest of the way. The outside shot never fell for him. Meanwhile, Indiana was a buzzsaw on the other end with an active night inside the paint. Everything that could’ve gone wrong for OKC did.
Lu Dort: B
One of the few positives, Dort stepped up to the plate and delivered. At least on one end, he did. The Thunder have struggled to get points from their role players on the road. He did his best to change that, but his efforts ultimately fell short. Not because of his contributions, though.
Dort finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and four rebounds. He shot 4-of-5 from 3.
The outside shots were a nice surprise, but Haliburton had the game under his control. You can’t let that happen if you’re Dort. The Pacers’ franchise player was quiet, sans his last-season Game 1 game-winner, in the first two games. But he dictated the pace in Game 3.
The Thunder will need Dort to stick with Haliburton throughout Game 4. As he proved throughout this game, he will make the opposition pay for giving him any wiggle room at the perimeter. Easier said than done, but OKC has to battle its way through screens and not go under.
