The Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back in Game 2 of the Finals against the Indiana Pacers, but that was to be expected after the letdown in Game 1. Now that the series is all tied up at 1-1, the Thunder has quite the challenge ahead of them as they look to steal a game over the next two in Indianapolis to regain homecourt advantage.
Heart & Hustle on homecourt 🎥 pic.twitter.com/xLuOvykV9J
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 9, 2025
The Thunder found success against the Pacers in Game 2 with some extra help from Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins, who came up big on both ends of the court throughout the game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been as consistent as ever, and Chet Holmgren had a great first quarter before ending the game with a solid performance, but Jalen Williams has yet to have a true breakout moment in the Finals. If the Thunder wants to take the lead in the series, they’re likely going to need some more output from JDub.
As far as the Pacers go, they haven’t had any type of fantastic scoring performance from Tyrese Haliburton, but they’re more “score by committee” than perhaps any other team in the league, so that’s not outside of the norm. OKC has adjusted well and forced the ball out of Haliburton’s hands perhaps more than he and the Pacers would like, and they will need to continue that trend on defense in Game 3.
This game isn’t truly a must-win for either team, but it will go a long way for whoever gets it. OKC is still a heavy favorite to win the series, and even if they lose Game 3, they will still likely be given a slight edge to come away as champions, but if the Thunder can put together another convincing win, it will almost certainly squash most of Indiana’s hopes moving forward.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Television: ABC
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Indiana Pacers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Pacers
- PG: Tyrese Haliburton
- SG: Andrew Nembhard
- SF: Aaron Nesmith
- PF: Pascal Siakam
- C: Myles Turner
Injury Report
Thunder
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
Pacers
- Isaiah Jackson (torn right Achilles tendon) is OUT.
- Jarace Walker (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 15-16 against the Pacers in the regular season (9-5 at home, 6-11 on the road) and 1-1 in the Playoffs (1-1 at home, 0-0 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Pacers 4 times, lost it 5 times, and tied 6 times.
- The Thunder won the season series 2-0 this season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder is tied with the Pacers 1-1 in the NBA Finals (1-1 at home, 0-0 on the road).