INDIANAPOLIS – No matter what happens on Wednesday night, Game 3 marks a pivotal moment in the NBA Finals.
The Indiana Pacers can take a 2-1 series lead or find themselves in a 1-2 hole against the Oklahoma City Thunder. At the very least, the Blue and Gold will be back at home, where they’re 6-2 in the playoffs and 29-11 in the regular season.
The Thunder, meantime, are 4-3 on the road in the postseason.
'Rocking' Gainbridge atmosphere
The Pacers know the home crowd will be a huge factor Wednesday night.
“The city’s been waiting for an opportunity like this. I expect a hell of an environment,” said center Myles Turner. “Exciting times to experience the Finals in Indianapolis.”
Turner has spent the entirety of his ten-year NBA career with the franchise. He believes the familiar surroundings will do him and his teammates some good.
“Being back, it’s good energy,” Turner said. “Being back in front of your home fans is big. Stick to your regular routine, sleep in your own bed, get your own meals—all that type of stuff is a big factor. I think it’s going to be important for us to protect our homecourt.”
Coach Rick Carlisle has been in the Finals before, both as a Pacers assistant and as a championship-wining coach for the Dallas Mavericks. Still, he feels a special connection between Indiana and basketball.
“I think Indiana’s reputation, because of ‘Hoosiers,’ Bob Knight and Indiana University and the history that this franchise has with the ABA teams and all that, and one prior Finals appearance—it’s a big deal,” Carlisle said. “Coming back and being home—there’s just so much to be excited about.”
Players expect an electric atmosphere at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“It’s exciting. I can’t wait to see how rocking and loud this place is. It’s going to be special,” said forward Aaron Nesmith. “Every little run, the crowd gets going, get hyped. You get hyped with the crowd. You feed off the energy, it makes it tough for them [Oklahoma City]. They’ll be the only ones in the building, and they’ve got to fight against 20,000 people in there.”
Indianapolis hasn’t hosted an NBA Finals game since 2000, when Reggie Miller’s Indiana squad took on the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I am super excited to see our atmosphere,” Nesmith said. “I’m excited to see how rocking it’s going to be. They’ve been waiting 25 years for this. They better bring the heat.”
“I know our crowd’s going to be fired up, and we need them more fired up than ever,” said veteran point guard TJ McConnell. “We’ve got a great homecourt advantage and we’ve just got to focus on taking it one game at a time.”
Making adjustments
The Pacers won Game 1 on a last-second shot but couldn’t get much going in Game 2, when they trailed by double digits from the second quarter on.
The Pacers have been resilient in the postseason, responding to each playoff loss with a victory in the next game. They’re 4-0 in the playoffs after a loss and rarely dropped back-to-back games during the regular season (it happened only twice after the calendar turned to 2025).
Oklahoma City presents a significant challenge. They have athleticism and length on the perimeter and can suffocate opponents on defense. Their defensive effort forced the Pacers into 25 turnovers in Game 1 and stifled the offense in Game 2.
Expect some adjustments.
“You’ve got to mix things up. You can’t give these guys the same dosage, the same look of anything—if you try to run high pick-and-roll all game, they’ll just crawl into you and pack the paint, and nothing’s open,” said Tyrese Haliburton, who scored 17 points in Game 2 but had an uncharacteristic five turnovers. “There’s got to be a mix of things—gotta be off the ball, playing off the pitch, gotta be coming off ball screens. You can’t run the same thing consistently against these guys. You’ve got to mix it up. We’ve got to do a much better job of that.”
Haliburton said he got into too many high pick-and-roll situations, allowing the Thunder to clog the lane and leading to late actions and low-quality looks with the shot clock ticking down. He believes having two games under his belt against OKC’s swarming defense will make a difference.
“Playing two games against these guys is really good. It gives me more film to watch and see where I can be better,” Haliburton said. “I feel like I haven’t been great by any means in the first two games, so I’m just trying to take what I can to prepare me for Game 3 and trying to be the best version of myself.”
Carlisle said the Thunder excel at limiting star players like Haliburton and teammate Pascal Siakam.
“It’s one of their strengths,” Carlisle said. “We’ve gone through these situations many times, not only during the playoffs, but during the regular season. Not just this season, but prior seasons. We’re going to have to adjust and create better situations. We’re going to have to be better.”
“We’ve got to be stronger with the ball, obviously,” Siakam said. “Be decisive. Whatever we decide to do, just do it.”
Oklahoma City’s constant defensive switching makes it challenging for the Pacers to play at the speed and pace they prefer. They spent much of their practice Tuesday making adjustments. Practice players stayed a little longer to simulate OKC’s defense and help the Pacers understand how to best respond.
“We have our adjustments,” Turner said. “Just stick to our game plan and adjust as we go.”
“Being unselfish, moving the ball, trying to get into the paint—I know it’s difficult, but we have to read and react and be better in that area,” McConnell said.
Nesmith quickly dove into the game film from Sunday night’s loss. It wasn’t pretty.
“We’ve got to do more. Everybody’s got to do more. Looking back at the film, watching it back on the plane, several plays I didn’t like that I made,” Nesmith said. “I thought there was more I can do. You’ve got to live with that, learn from it and be better the next time you get the opportunity.”
It all starts with taking care of the basketball, winning fifty-fifty balls and matching the Thunder’s physicality.
“They do a good job being physical. We’ve got to combat that by being more aggressive,” said third-year guard Andrew Nembhard.
Haliburton banged up
An alarming sight for Pacers fans: Haliburton limping away from the podium after his postgame news conference in Game 2.
He appeared to have no such problems during Tuesday’s shootaround and media session.
“I’m fine. Really just a lower leg thing. I’ll leave it at that,” Haliburton said. “I don’t think there’s anything more to elaborate. I feel fine, and I’ll be ready to go for Game 3.”
Carlisle suggested his star guard was banged up but expected him to push through it.
“He practiced. He went through everything,” Carlisle said. “I know he has some discomfort. He feels it. But each day it’s getting better. I don’t think you’re going to hear him making a big deal out of it.”
Another ‘Gold Out’
Game 3 will mark another “Gold Out,” with each fan in attendance receiving a gold t-shirt.
Tip is set for 8:30 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The game airs on ABC.