Just before Game 3 of the NBAFinals tipped off on Wednesday night, the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton and his teammates could be seen singing a perfectly befitting soundtrack for their high-wire postseason act.
50 Cent’s ‘Many Men’ – a song inspired by the rapper surviving a harrowing near-death experience – blared from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse’s speakers, as Indiana and their fans hoped this improbable run could take a gargantuan step forward towards a 2-1 series lead.
And ultimately, the Pacers proved they were not out of lives just yet as they overcame an early deficit en route to a rapturous 116-107 win.
The Pacers didn’t wind up needing Haliburton’s now-typical late heroics, though he produced a ‘combination of spatial awareness and aggression’ in the words of coach Rick Carlisle, as he produced a mature 22-point double-double. Newly-minted MVP Shai Gillgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, scored 24 points, but coughed up six turnovers and went missing down the stretch.
Still, despite the hostile conditions in Indianapolis – who were hosting their first Finals game since 2000 – it wasOklahomaCity who raced out to a 15-6 lead, which led to a quick timeout from coach Rick Carlisle.
‘The conversation was ‘we gotta wake up’, you know, I think that was the biggest thing,’ Haliburton recalled of the message during that stoppage. ‘We had a couple bad turnovers there, we played a little – antsy probably is the right word. I thought we just did a great job responding.
The retort that followed was emblematic of Indiana’s postseason run to this point. Carlisle veteran coach spoke before the game of the ‘pride’ in the state’s basketball reputation, and that was evident during a game which drew Caitlin Clark to a courtside seat, and saw Pat McAfee deliver a fourth quarter pep talk to fans, telling them to get louder than OKC’s home base had been in Games 1 and 2.
Indiana, in front of their adulating fans, did not wilt after its rough start, which included 13 first-quarter points from Chet Holmgren as the young big man torched them inside.
A Haliburton three-pointer towards the end of the first quarter cut the OKC lead to just two points and brought the noise to deafening levels, while a TJ McConnell steal (far from the first of the night) and possession-win after throwing the ball off of Cason Wallace briefly looked like it could be the turning point for the night early into the next period.
Tyrese Haliburton helped the Indiana Pacers move 2-1 ahead in the NBA Finals on Wednesday
MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander started strong but faded down the stretch for the OKC Thunder
Ben Mathurin led the Pacers in scoring after putting up 27 points on the night
McConnell would finally give the Pacers a 37-36 lead not long after with two makes at the free throw line, and what had been a competitive but confident start from the Thunder soon turned skittish.
Indiana’s defensive wall firmed up inside, with Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. forcing up some difficult looks, and the stats soon showed that the visitors – heavily favored to take this series – had been outscored 15-4 in a four-and-a-half minute span to open the second quarter.
The first half (and beyond) was defined at times by several supporting-cast performances, as Benedict Mathurin led the team into halftime with 14 points off the bench (he finished with 27), while Lu Dort’s nine points in the first quarter helped his team build an early advantage. Obi Toppin’s energy off of the bench also helped turn the tide for the hosts, while Caruso was a nuisance all night.
But it wouldn’t be too long before the stars on both sides woke up, too, and before OKC settled down – even if their offense was clunky and sloppy at times.
Haliburton – who came into the game reportedly battling an ankle injury – increasingly probed as the half went on, setting up looks for both himself and his teammates by getting in the paint, while Gilgeous-Alexander was able to labor his way to his spots, even if the MVP looked uncomfortable with Indiana’s defensive pressure at times.
All told, OKC ended the first half with 11 turnovers, which gifted the Pacers 13 points and perhaps more crucially, the belief that they could really stun the NBA universe again.
‘Those plays hurt, especially because they’re very controllable,’ Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Pacers scoring off of turnovers. ‘You can take your time. You make mistakes in basketball, no matter the stage. We definitely had opportunities to cover those things up. But you also don’t let plays like that happen.’
Indiana’s stubborn spirit from the first 24 minutes persisted in the third quarter, as the hosts withstood another Thunder flurry.
OKC quickly flipped the Pacers’ lead to begin the period, turning a four-point deficit to a lead of the same amount, which instilled a noticeably nervy energy in the area for a few moments. It actually could’ve been seven had Holmgren made an open three from the top of the arc.
Fever star Caitlin Clark was in the house for the Pacers’ first home Finals game since 2000
Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates were frustrated for long periods of the second quarter
Haliburton could be seen celebrating with Pacers legend Reggie Miller after the victory
But as these Pacers so often do – as they did against the Bucks, Cavs, Knicks and now against the league-best Thunder – they fought back despite Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams’ (team-high 26 points) increasing presence in the contest.
A Haliburton steal and wide open layup (a ‘pick-six’ if you will), pushed the hosts’ lead back to four, and the rest of the quarter was back and forth as neither team was able to create much distance.
A three-pointer from Williams to end the quarter then gave the Thunder a five point and a bit of daylight heading into the fourth. But that sort of comfort didn’t last for very long.
‘I was proud of the way we bounced back from a rough ending to the third quarter,’ Carlisle said after the game. ‘That was something that could have shaken us up a lot, but the guys that went back in there to start the fourth, they kept their head down and kept competing.
The pesky McConnell, who nabbed five steals on the night, earned his final one early in the period off an inbounds pass from Caruso, to tie the game at 95 with a subsequent layup.
At this point, Indiana smelled blood in the water and re-gained the lead less than a minute later as Mathurin drilled a three, while OKC’s offense clammed up down the stretch.
Haliburton later forced a timeout with 6:42 remaining as his deep-range bomb gave the Pacers a three-point lead. A couple of minutes after, the Pacers and their fans could exhale slightly more as Toppin – not for the first time this postseason – brought the house down with a dunk, which in this case gave the hosts a seven-point lead.
Indy were able to hold firm from there – no miraculous comeback needed – and will now look to land an even bigger blow to the Thunder’s title hopes on Friday.