Like a pack of marauders, the Indiana Pacers stole Game 1 in dramatic fashion. There was no panic from the heavily-favored Oklahoma City Thunder, as order was restored in Game 2. But with the venue changing from OKC to Indiana for Wednesday’s Game 3, could order be maintained?
The Thunder scored the first four points of the game then raced out to a nine-point lead. Eventually, they won the first quarter, 32-28. Order was in fact maintained, but an NBA game is four quarters.
And Indiana responded well in the second quarter, especially the bench mob. Bennedict Mathurin said it was Bennedict Mathurin time, scoring from all over the court, while T.J. McConnell channeled his inner-Grand Theft Alvarado, stealing two inbound passes. He not only was a problem on defense, but his aggressiveness on offense put the Thunder on their heels.
The Pacers eradicated the deficit, then flipped the script, building a seven-point lead themselves and went into halftime with the 64-60 lead.
Out of the break, the Thunder defense clamped down while the offense scored six points before Rick Carlisle called a timeout. Pacers lead gone in a blink, but the Pacers have been punching back all series, and did so once again. The game now turned into a heavyweight fight, with both sides landing haymaker after haymaker. It was the Thunder that ended the quarter on a high note, though, and headed into the final period with the 89-84 lead.
The No-Lead-Is-Safe Pacers stayed true to form, grinding, battling then eventually taking the lead. The yellow-clad home crowd propelled them forward like a shot of NOS for the 116-107 victory.
Indiana is now up 2-1 in the series and odds are good that they hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy, as 32 out of 40 prior teams that went up 2-1 in the NBA Finals eventually closed the deal.
Tyrese Haliburton ($11,000; 57.25 FPTS) was bottled up in the first two games of the series, but he was brilliant on Wednesday, missing a triple-double by a single rebound. He finished the night with 22 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists, a block and two steals. He shot 9-of-17 from the field and 4-of-8 from downtown.
Pascal Siakam ($9,400; 40.5 FPTS) bounced back from a mediocre Game 2 and contributed 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, one block and two steals. He went 8-of-14 from the field, 0-of-2 from downtown and 5-of-6 from the line.
Bennedict Mathurin ($2,400; 36 FPTS) scorched the nets, converting 9-of-12 from the field, 2-of-3 from downtown and 7-of-8 from the line. He finished with a game-high 27 points to go along with four rebounds, one assist and one block in only 22 minutes.
T.J. McConnell ($4,000; 27.75 FPTS) put up 10 points, one rebound, five assists and five steals in only 15 minutes.
For OKC:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($13,000; 43.5 FPTS) led the way with 24 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks. He shot 9-of-20 from the field, 1-of-3 from downtown and 5-of-6 from the line.
Jalen Williams ($10.400: 38.5 FPTS) shot well, converting 9-of-18 from the field and 1-of-2 from downtown but only drained 7-of-11 from the line. Williams finished with 26 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Chet Holmgren ($8,400; 38.5 FPTS) had his best game of the series, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Game 4 is Friday in Indiana.
