Indiana takes down OKC, regains NBA finals lead

INDIANA Pacers regained the lead in the NBA Finals following a 116-107 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Bennedict Mathurin delivered a playoff career-high of 27 points, which included two three-pointers, along with four rebounds, one assist, and one block, leading the Pacers to take the series lead at 2-1.

Tyrese Haliburton had a near triple-double of 22 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds, while Paskal Siakam and TJ McConnell added 21 and 10 points, respectively, for the Pacers.

“It’s not always going to be exactly the same guys that are stepping up with scoring and stuff like that,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said on the explosive showings of Mathurin and McConnell. “But this is how we got to do it, and we’ve got to do it as a team and we’ve got to make it as hard as possible on them,” he added. “This was a great game, but we have to turn the page quickly. There’s another game in like 36 hours.”

The Thunder initially took the lead with a score of 32-24, but the Pacers relied on Mathurin’s offense and McConnell’s defense to secure a 64-60 advantage by halftime.

The Thunder launched an 8-0 run at the start of the third quarter to temporarily reclaim the lead at 66-64. However, the Pacers managed to recover and took a 79-76 lead before OKC reversed the momentum to lead 89-84.

In response, the Pacers opened the fourth quarter by tying the score at 95-all before they ultimately broke free with three-pointers from Mathurin, Haliburton, and Andrew Nembhard, along with inside baskets from Siakam and Myles Turner.

“This is just one of the games to be won, we are aware of the importance of this win in our title aspirations, but we just want to focus on our next game,” Mathurin said after the win.

Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 26 points, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 24 points, and Chet Holmgren and Luguentz Dort added 20 and 12 points, respectively./PN

BOX SCORE:

INDIANA 116 — Mathurin 27, Haliburton 22, Siakam 21, McConnell 10, Turner 9, Nembhard 8, Toppin 8, Nesmith 7, Sheppard 4, Bryant 0.

OKLAHOMA CITY 107 — Jal. Williams 26, Gilgeous-Alexander 24, Holmgren 20, Dort 12, Caruso 8, Wallace 7, Joe 6, Hartenstein 4, Wiggins 0, K. Williams 0, Jay. Williams 0.

Quarterscores: 24-32, 64-60, 84-89, 116-107.