Key events
The numbers
ESPN says we’ve had 10 lead changes and nine ties. SGA has 16, Siakam has 10. The difference? SGA is -1 and Siakam is +10.
OKC are just 4-18 from three, which is a horrific 22.2%. Indy have hit half their threes and are 8-16. The Thunder have been strong in the paint, winning that stat 20-12.
It’s pretty even elsewhere.
Indy have their typical balanced offense. The big issue for OKC is SGA has no help. Where is Williams?
Incredible pressure on OKC right now to win a Game 7 at home against an Indy team without its key cog.
Right now, incredibly, Indy are the better team.
Pacers 48-47 Thunder, end of first half
Nembhard bounces off Hartenstein in the paint, shoots and misses. Back come OKC – SGA finds Hartenstein down low, he hits the layup and is fouled by Toppin! A couple of old Knicks right there.
He sticks the foul shot.
Then Mathurin gets charged for a moving screen! SGA comes back on the other end, drives and is fouled. The infraction is on the floor but Indy are over the limit so there’s freee throws for the MVP.
He hits both.
But how about this – Nembhard, a step back three on Holmgren – it’s good!
Indy take a lead into the break after losing their cornerstone! A busy, eventful first half comes to a close, and clearly, against all odds, the Pacers aren’t going away.
Pacers 45-42 Thunder, 1:13 2nd quarter
Obi Toppin tries a three – no good. Siakam goes for the rebound and is fouled by Wallace. He hits both from the stripe. Indy by three.
Pacers 43-42 Thunder, 1:34 2nd quarter
Shea drives to the lane and is blocked by Turner…but it’s goal-tending.
Williams looks tentative for OKC by the way. Doesn’t have that confidence right now.
Now Dort throws up an enormous brick and we have a jump ball with 0.5 seconds on the shot clock. OKC deflects it out of bounds.
On the other end, Mathurin, with zero hesitation, sticks a three, right over SGA!
Indy on top.
Pacers 40-40 Thunder, 3:13 2nd quarter
McConnell ties the game with a jumper. He does that kind of thing, much to the annoyance of whomever he plays!
Pacers 38-40 Thunder, 3:57 2nd quarter
Williams, a step-back three, off the mark. Then Nesmith misses from beyond the arc.
It’s Dortz’s turn to fire away from beyond the arc. Yes! The Canadian sticks it!
A lot of Canadians out there.
Pacers 36-37 Thunder, 5:22 2nd quarter
McConnell brings it up for Indy, looks left, dribbles right, stops on a dime, then drives to the rim and hits a reverse layup! Wow! That’s so McConnell.
Now a Holmgren miss, and a Nesmith rebound. Indy in transition – McConnell finds Nesmith who drives and is able to hit!
Timeout OKC! Indy storm right back when it looked like the Thunder were about to get some legitimate separation!
Pacers 32-37 Thunder, 6:25 1st quarter
Mathurin powers through the paint but can’t finish. Rebound OKC, the other way, Carson hits a three!
Largest lead of the night for the Thunder!
Pacers 32-34 Thunder, 7:14 2nd quarter
Who will emerge to fill the massive gap left by Haliburton’s departure? Maybe it’s Nesmith, who hits a three pointer to tie this game yet again. That’s six threes for Indy!
Lou Dort misses from three – Toppin has it, then loses it! Wallace, off the steal, finds SGA, who hits a step-back jumper from 14 feet out!
Timeout Indiana! The Pacers have turned the ball over three times in this quarter already!
Tyrese Haliburton
It’s confirmed that Haliburton will not return with a “lower leg” injury. Man, that is such a shame for him and his teammates. That said, OKC are plodding along here, their offense being slowed down considerably in the second quarter.
OKC are up 32-29
Pacers 28-30 Thunder, 8:52 2nd quarter
Back door – Willams to Hartenstein and a layup. Sheppard coughs it up for an Indy turnover, then OKC gives it up, Wallace fumbles it away.
It’s getting messy. And muddy.
Now Williams, a little jump hook in the paint, it’s off, but he was fouled by Sheppard.
Pacers 28-27 Thunder, 10:02 1st quarter
Now a great pass from Hartenstein finds a wide open cutting Caruso to put OKC on top, briefly. I say briefly, because Bradley has an opportunity thwarted by Williams, but there’s a whistle.
Two free throws from Bradley as Indy regains the lead.
Pacers 26-25 Thunder, 10:43 2nd quarter
Siakam, who won a title with Toronto, addresses his team in between quarters, and the message must be something like, “hey, don’t panic, we got this.”
Mathurin seems inspired, he ties the game with a three!
Later, Siakam is fouled by Carson Wallace and hits one of two from the stripe. Indy back on top.
Quick first quarter review
Well, aside from the huge news of Haliburton’s injury, it was a pretty clean quarter – four turnovers for Indy, one for OKC, and mostly, that’s the difference so far.
A lot more to come.
Pacers 22-25 Thunder, end of 1st quarter
Holmgren is fouled by McConnell, who obviously will have an enormous part to play without Haliburton. He hits one of two free throws and that’ll do it for a busy, impactful first quarter.
Pacers 22-24 Thunder, 0:28 1st quarter
So, can Indy stay in this game without their star all-NBA guard? Again, I am not counting out Carlisle and Indy. If they do however, it weould be even more historic.
Mathurin grabs an offensive rebound and puts it in to tie the game as the first quarter winds down.
Haliburton Update
For those of you without access to live pictures, here’s how it looked.
Haliburton injured
Looking at the replay his calf just gave out on him. We’ll update you on his status as soon as there’s information, but Halibuton heads to the locker room with help from team staff and a towel over his head. Nothing there points to good news for Indy.
Pacers 16-18 Thunder, 4:55 1st quarter
Now Caruso is driving, but his layup attempt is off the mark. On the other end, Haliburton slips and turns it over and in transition, Williams takes a pass from SGA and hits an easy layup.
Haliburton is down, and he is writhing in pain and visibly upset. It’s his right calf. Pacers players surround their star guard – this is not good, and obviously it’s an enormous development in this game.
Time out as they care for Haliburton.
Pacers 14-16 Thunder, 5:36 1st quarter
Caruso, again from downtown, it’s good!
OKC have their first lead of the game!
Pacers 14-13 Thunder, 6:01 1st quarter
SGA finds Caruso beyond the arc, nobody near him, he pops, and it’s good. A defensive breakdown there by Indy – it’s a one-point game. On the other end, Mathurin has to chuck a three with the shot clock winding down and finds nothing but air – excellent defense there by the home team.
Pacers 14-10 Thunder, 6:58 1st quarter
Haliburton – back-to-back threes, but then OKC comes right back, with SGA finding Dort on the old back door play.
Now Nesmith fouls SGA, his second! So that’s something to watch.
So is yet another three from Haliburton, this time with Hartenstein in his face! Wow! And OKC want to talk it over, time out on the floor!
Pacers 5-6 Thunder, 9:00 1st quarter
SGA penetrating and receives contact – it’s Nesmith who has the foul, his first. They call it on the floor. In bounds pass – SGA has it – shoots a two from the near corner – it’s good!
Now SGA blocks a shot by Haliburton, and then Holmgren pops, and hits!
The crowd likes that a bit more.
Pacers 5-2 Thunder, 10:15 1st quarter
Game 7 of the NBA Finals is underway! A 14 foot jumper by Nembhard and a block of Williams by Nesmith gets the pensive OKC crowd just a bit stiffer. Great start by Indy!
Double Bigs
OKC are going with the big boys, Hartenstein and Holmgren in the starting lineup. That makes sense for them – they’ve been uncommitted to the pair this series but they begin with the duo, who will try and contain Siakam, who has been a model of consistency throughout the playoffs.
National Anthem
Kristin Chenoweth is belting out the anthem in an OKC t-shirt just before we get going. Kristin has some trophies, Emmy’s, Tony’s stuff like that. So no surprise, she does good job – and really, REALLY ends on a high note. Pretty wild, I’ll give it a 8/10, because it scared the crap out of me.
The starting lineups are being announced right now. And by the way, the point spread has dipped to OKC -6.5. Indy is closing the gap already!
Prediction
I don’t like to brag, but if you followed our Game 1 blog as I am sure you did, you may have noticed that I picked Indiana to win in seven games. Well, here we are, Game 7 and that means I am one Indiana victory from prediction immortality. I plan on making that leap tonight along with the Pacers, who will also have achieved a little something special. How will Indy do it? The same way they always do, a few McConnell in bounds steals here, a Toppin monster dunk there, great defense from Mathurin and Nembhard, some threes from the healing Nesmith, a steady Haliburton, who somehow grabs 10 rebounds and hits an off balance last-second shot, and a lot from Siakam, who will win a Finals MVP award to go along with his Eastern Conference Finals MVP award – sorry Tyrese. The skittish Thunder tip their caps and wait till next year, 107-104. Done.
Do you buy that? Send your prediction in, now!
Tip-off coming very very soon. Stick with us!
Whoa!
I’ve just learned that Rick Carlisle got wind that busses were being painted with OKC “2025 champions” on them.
I don’t even have words that can articulate just how bad that is. B-A-D BAD!
If you’re going to do that, for f’s sake, do not get caught! I know they make the shirts and hats in advance, but that’s the league marketing folks doing that, and you can’t burn a bus if they lose.
OKC – if they lose tonight, they will never live that down, never, ever, ever, EVER.
And you got Rick mad. Damn.
Rick the Ruler
Has Rick Carlisle gotten enough love? I don’t think so. The Pacers head coach who led the Dallas Mavericks to an upset Finals victory over LeBron’s and Wade’s Miami Heat in 2011 is on the verge of turning the trick for a second time. You don’t have to convince Thunder coach Mark Daigneault that Carlisle is amongst the elite NBA head coaches, he called coaching against him “humbling.” You can add intensity to that list of adjectives. Up 28 points in Game 6, a pretty comfortable lead, Carlisle roasted Obi Toppin for failing to close out a three point shot. “You cannot do that shit”, or something like that. Toppin was subsequently removed from the game.
Ahead of the series finale, Rick said “This is a time to celebrate. These moments are rare…I’m very much looking forward to Game 7.”
He also said “I love pressure. What you learn is that these moments are rare, and trying to duplicate this kind of situation is something that you look to do in everyday life. It’s not easy to do that. It’s not easy to do that.”
RC also left OKC with this blast, just to freak out the young Thunder a little more heading into the biggest game of their lives. “There are more adjustments that can be made, for sure.”
Damn.
Rick Carlisle: his head games are subtle, polite, but scary as hell for the other team. He loves pressure, and frankly, he can be my coach any day. If Miami’s Erik Spoelstra is the top coach, Carlisle is bidding for the second spot with Steve Kerr as no2 in the league with Steve Kerr of Golden State. There can’t be much between them, especially if he wins tonight.
ICYMI
Meanwhile…isn’t there a rule that says there can’t be league-altering blockbuster deals ahead of the crown jewel event of an NBA season? If there isn’t, there should be. And if there is, someone sprung a leak.
Anyway, Kevin Durant is heading to Houston, and Phoenix is getting Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Houston’s No. 10 pick in the upcoming draft and five second-round picks.
Yeah, that’s a lot. All I can say is, the Rockets better win in 2025-2026 or there’s gonna be a lot of problems in Houston.
We could debate this deal for hours, and if there’s a blowout, maybe we will!
And now, back to our regularly scheduled Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Greetings!
They said this series would suck. They said this series would be short. But I am here to say now, hello and welcome to our live coverage of Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Seven games, that’s as long as it can go. You don’t get bad seven game series, it doesn’t happen. The Thunder and Pacers match-up is no exception.
For those of you new to basketball and wanted to see what all the fuss was about, the season ends tonight, and we’re guaranteed to have a new champion. So yeah, it’s kind of a big deal, which is why you’re here.
What a series it’s been – the Pacers and Thunder defenses have smothered a pair of exceptionally strong offenses, and now there’s one final slug-fest to come in Oklahoma.
The Thunder won 68 games this regular season, amongst the best of all-time, and the payoff is a Game 7 at home. It’s a significant advantage for OKC: the home team has won 16 NBA Finals game sevens while the road team has won just four. So, it will be an uphill battle for Indy, but guess what? They don’t care at all about where they’re playing, and they don’t care about who they’re playing. If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that counting out the Pacers under any circumstances is an enormous mistake. They were counted out in Game 6, having lost two straight in a seven game series, which is always difficult to overcome. Tyrese Haliburton, their all-NBA guard, was either going to be out with an injury or severely hampered. And Oklahoma was seen to have figured Indiana out – I’m pretty sure there was some parade talk happening in OKC. Then Indy came out and absolutely destroyed the Thunder, and in a way we have not seen a whole lot of these playoffs. It was a pretty “wow” moment.
Bottom line: if you’re not impressed with Indiana, then you’re not analysing in good faith. With all that said, there’s a strong argument that OKC will win this game tonight. First off, the fact that they’re favored by 8.5 points tells you just how superior the Thunder have been at home. Vegas believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will cap his MVP season with Oklahoma’s first title, and that Jalen Williams will follow up his masterful 40-point Game 5 and his duds of a Game 6 with another stellar performance in the biggest of spots.
And if they don’t win, and Indiana figures out a way to swipe their first ever NBA title, OKC’s season will be an abject failure. Not fair? Maybe, but that’s the truth, Ruth.
I can’t wait, and if you’re reading this, chances are you are also counting the minutes to tip-off. We’ll have more to come as we head towards game time, but for now, why not email over your Game 7 prediction over and I’ll put your name in the paper. Who doesn’t love that?
More to come – stick with us!
How to watch Game 7 of the NBA finals
Game 7 of the NBA finals between the Pacers and Thunder will tip off shortly after 8pm US eastern time on Sunday (1am BST on Monday).
In the US, the game will air on ABC. Streaming options include ABC.com or the ABC app (with a participating TV provider login), as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, fuboTV, DIRECTV STREAM and Sling TV (via ESPN3).
In the UK, the game will be available on TNT Sports and Discovery+. In Australia, the game will broadcast live on ESPN Australia. Additionally, Kayo Sports and Foxtel Now will stream the games live.
David will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look back at Friday night’s Game 6.
