Ladies and gents, we now have reached the ultimate second of the NBA season, and with it come the two greatest phrases in sport to sum it up completely.: “Sport 7!” That is the primary Sport 7 within the Finals since 2016. Sure, it has been 9 years since “The Block” by LeBron James when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors on their residence courtroom. The Indiana Pacers ensured the Thunder wouldn’t lift the trophy in their arena with their 108-91 victory, giving the Pacers an opportunity to tug off one of many best championship collection upsets of all time-the greatest since their coach, Rick Carlisle, gained as a heavy underdog in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks in opposition to the Miami Warmth.
A win in Sport 7 on Sunday wouldn’t solely give the Pacers their first NBA title, but in addition make them simply the third group in historical past to win the championship after getting into the event as a seed decrease than No. 3. Indiana was the fourth seed within the East when the playoffs began. The 1969 Celtics have been the fourth seed, and the 1995 Rockets gained all of it because the sixth seed. The Pacers have been the heaviest underdogs within the Finals because the Pistons in 2004 in opposition to the Lakers.
Pacers Drive Sport 7 with Dominant Win Over Thunder
From the beginning, the Pacers set their tempo. They went into halftime with a 22-point lead and into the third quarter with a 30-point lead. The Thunder starters did not play within the fourth quarter. Tyrese Haliburton, who was questionable for the sport as a result of a calf pressure, completed with 14 factors, 5 assists, and a +25 in simply 23 minutes. Nevertheless, he is aware of the job is not completed. The hardest half is but to return: ending the season on the highway in Oklahoma’s loudest area. Haliburton says shopping for into that narrative may very well be “poison.” In his personal phrases: “We gotta do job of staying away from that stuff. , I feel that may be poison. We do job of simply kinda staying inside ourselves within the locker room.”
Hali is happy about Sport 7 #NBAFinals Sport 7 | Sunday at 8 PM ET on ABC pic.twitter.com/QdzIhO1ET9
? SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 20, 2025
He mentions that the narrative heading into Sport 7 will likely be about how properly Indiana performed in Sport 6 and the way a lot stress is on OKC after their historic season. The Thunder completed the common season with the perfect file in franchise historical past (68-14)-the sixth-best in NBA historical past and the perfect level differential ever. However that issues little to the Pacers, as each groups are trying to find their first NBA championship.
The final Sport 7 was the Cavaliers’ epic comeback from a 1-3 deficit in opposition to the Warriors, a group with which the Thunder share similarities. At the moment, the Warriors had the perfect common season in historical past (73-9), and since they have been closing the collection at residence, they have been the favorites. Nevertheless, it’s a must to play these final 48 minutes to grow to be champions. I suppose that may encourage the Pacers, who’re 7.5-point underdogs for the sport.
The Thunder know they have their fans’ support and have confirmed to be higher than the Pacers all through the collection, besides within the last quarters. Moreover, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned, “We are able to be taught our classes. We now have one recreation for the whole lot. For the whole lot we have labored for. And so do they.” Let’s hope it is a recreation worthy of closing out one other season on the earth’s greatest basketball league.
Tyrese Haliburtons no-look dime to Pascal Siakam for the poster in phantom pic.twitter.com/iSrrzTCkBp
? Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 20, 2025
