Game 3: Pacers rally in the 4th, beat Thunder 116-107 to take 2-1 lead in NBA Finals

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Every time Indiana has lost a game in the last three months, it simply has come back to win the next one.

Even in the NBA Finals — against a huge favorite who the Pacers now have in some trouble.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points off the bench, Tyrese Haliburton finished with 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Pacers retook the lead in the NBA Finals by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107 in Game 3 on Wednesday night.

“This is the kind of team that we are," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We need everybody to be ready. It’s not always going to be exactly the same guys that are stepping up with scoring and stuff like that. But this is how we've got to do it.”

Pascal Siakam scored 21 for Indiana, which enjoyed a whopping 49-18 edge in bench points. The Pacers, who lost Game 2 in Oklahoma City, improved to 10-0 since mid-March in the game immediately following a loss.

"So many different guys chipped in," Haliburton said.

Jalen Williams scored 26 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 24 and Chet Holmgren had 20 for the Thunder, who led by five going into the fourth.

Game 4 is back in Indiana on Friday night.

“We had a lot of good stretches of the game,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “But they had more good stretches than we did — and outplayed us over the course of 48 minutes.”

History says the Pacers are in control now; in the 41 previous NBA Finals that were tied at a game apiece, the Game 3 winner went on to hoist the trophy 33 times — an 80.5% clip.

Advantage, Pacers.

It was back-and-forth much of the way. There were 15 ties; to put that in perspective, there were 13 ties in the five-game entirety of last year’s finals between Boston and Dallas. The last time there was a finals game with more ties: Game 1 between Cleveland in Golden State in 2018, which was knotted 17 times.

TJ McConnell finished with 10 points, five assists and five steals for Indiana; since all those stats started being charted, nobody had ever come off the bench and done all that in an NBA Finals game.

“We just had guys make plays after plays,” Haliburton said. “Our bench was amazing.”

The Thunder were 61-2 when leading going into the fourth quarter in the regular season. They're 1-2 when leading going into the fourth quarter in this series. Indiana — at home in an NBA Finals game for the first time in 25 years, with Caitlin Clark, Reggie Miller, Oscar Robertson and many other stars in the crowd — simply owned the final 12 minutes.

Indiana outscored OKC 32-18 in the fourth, holding the Thunder to 35% shooting with the game and control of the series on the line.

“There's a lot of areas we can clean up,” Holmgren said. “Everybody who stepped out there can be better.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) reacts to a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates after making a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein passes around Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, right, during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) motions after making a three pointer against the Indiana Pacers during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton reacts after making a three pointer against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle stands on the sidelines during the first half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots against Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) and guard T.J. McConnell (9) during the first half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (Matthew Stockman/Pool Photo via AP)

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, center, reacts during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Victor Wembanyama returned from a 12-game absence with 22 points and nine rebounds, giving San Antonio a surge and the Oklahoma City Thunder just its second loss with the 111-109 victory Saturday night putting the Spurs in the NBA Cup final.

The Spurs play the New York Knicks in Tuesday night's final.

Oklahoma City's last defeat was Nov. 5 at Portland, and the Thunder carried a 16-game winning streak into this game. They now are 24-2, the second-best start behind only the 25-1 record by Golden State in 2015-16.

This is the Thunder's second loss in a row in Las Vegas. They also lost last year’s final to Milwaukee 97-81.

Wembanyama, who received “M-V-P” chants from the pro-Spurs crowd, had a plus-21 rating in 21 minutes. Teammate Devin Vassell scored 23 points and De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle each scored 22.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 29 points, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams each totaled 17.

Wembanyama had been out because of a strained left calf, though the Spurs went 9-3 in his absence. He was placed on a minutes restriction against the Thunder, but that didn't limit his impact.

Wembanyama, who entered the game averaging 26.2 points and 12.9 rebounds, gave the Spurs an immediate boost and sent a surge into the crowd. Fans began to roar when he removed his sweatpants before the second quarter, and Wembanyama had a plus-20 rating in just seven minutes even with his team trailing by three points at halftime.

But San Antonio ended the first half with a 13-point run to make it a contest. The Spurs used a 10-point run in the third quarter to go up 62-56 and set the stage for a tense fourth period.

Spurs: Play the Knicks on Tuesday night in the NBA Cup final.

Thunder: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts to scoring in the second half of an NBA Cup semifinals basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, tangles with San Antonio Spurs' Keldon Johnson (3) and Stephon Castle (5) under the net in the first half of an NBA Cup semifinals basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) jumps up for a shot near San Antonio Spurs' Harrison Barnes (40) and Luke Kornet (7) in the first half of an NBA Cup semifinals basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) jumps to the basket near San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) during the first half of an NBA Cup semifinals basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) sets to play the ball in the first half of an NBA Cup semifinals basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)