OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — For the 20th time, there will be a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.
Indiana will play at Oklahoma City on Sunday night in the final game of the season, with the winner getting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Home teams are 15-4 in Game 7 of the finals, but a road team — Cleveland, over Golden State — won the most recent of those games in 2016.
A look inside some numbers surrounding this matchup:
There have been only two 40-point scoring performances in Game 7 of the NBA Finals — and both came in losing efforts.
Jerry West scored 42 points in Game 7 of the 1969 series, but the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in Bill Russell’s final game. And Elgin Baylor scored 41 points in Game 7 in 1962 — another Lakers-Celtics matchup — but Boston prevailed in that one as well.
Bob Pettit had the third-highest scoring total in a Game 7. He had 39 for the St. Louis Hawks against the Celtics in 1957 ... and Boston won that game as well.
The highest-scoring Game 7s in a winning effort? Those would be by Boston’s Tom Heinsohn in that 1957 game against St. Louis and Miami’s LeBron James in the 2013 series against San Antonio.
Both had 37; Heinsohn’s was a double-overtime game, James got his in regulation.
Yes, these are high-scoring teams. Oklahoma City was No. 4 in points per game in the regular season (120.5 per game) and Indiana was No. 7 (117.4). The Thunder are second in that category in the playoffs (115.2), just ahead of No. 3 Indiana (115.1).
In Game 7, that might not matter much.
No team has reached 100 points in Game 7 of the NBA Finals since 1988. Or even topped 95 points, for that matter.
The last five Game 7s:
— 2016, Cleveland 93, Golden State 89
— 2013, Miami 95, San Antonio 88
— 2010, Los Angeles Lakers 83, Boston 79
— 2005, San Antonio 81, Detroit 74
— 1994, Houston 90, New York 84
The last finals Game 7 to see someone hit the century mark was when the Lakers beat the Pistons 108-105 in 1988.
The average margin of victory in Game 7 of an NBA Finals: 6.9 points.
Each of the last eight such games have been decided by single digits. Only four have been double-digit wins: Boston over St. Louis by 19 in 1960, Minneapolis over New York by 17 in 1952, Boston over Milwaukee by 15 in 1974 and New York over the Los Angeles Lakers by 14 in 1970.
The closest Game 7 in the finals was Syracuse beating Fort Wayne 92-91 in 1955. That was one of six finals Game 7s decided by three points or less.
The Thunder are the 22nd No. 1 seed to play in Game 7 of an NBA Finals. Their 21 predecessors on that list are 12-9 in the ultimate game; seven of those games have been ones where both teams entered the playoffs as No. 1 seeds.
The Pacers are the fourth No. 4 seed to make Game 7 of the title round. Their three predecessors went 1-2 (Boston beat the Lakers in 1969, Seattle lost to Washington in 1978 and the Celtics lost to the Lakers in 2010).
It’ll be the fourth Game 7 for Indiana forwards Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner. Siakam’s teams have gone 2-1 in Game 7s, Turner’s have gone 1-2.
Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith is 2-0 in the pair of Game 7s in which he has played, with Indiana winning at New York last year and Boston beating Milwaukee in 2022. Both of those wins were in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s reigning MVP, has averaged 27 points in two previous Game 7s. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 points in his lone Game 7 to this point.
No player on either side has previously been part of a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.
The NBA doesn't announce referee assignments until game day, so it won't be known until Sunday morning who the three-person crew is for Game 7.
This much is certain: for at least two of the referees, it'll be the first time on the Game 7 finals stage.
Scott Foster — who would seem a likely pick this year — worked Game 7 of the finals in 2013 alongside Dan Crawford and Monty McCutchen, and Game 7 of the title series in 2010 with Dan Crawford and Joe Crawford.
The most recent Game 7 of the finals was in 2016 and the crew for that game was Dan Crawford, McCutchen and Mike Callahan.
Outside of Foster, no referee in this year's pool has been on the floor for a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) during the first half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (Maddie Meyer/Pool Photo via AP)
SYDNEY (AP) — Two gunmen shot dead at least 11 people on Sunday during a Jewish holiday celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Australian authorities said, declaring it a terrorist attack. One gunman was fatally shot by police and the second arrested.
The suspect was in critical condition, authorities said. At least 29 people were confirmed wounded, including two police officers, said Mal Lanyon, the police commissioner for New South Wales state, where Sydney is located.
The massacre at one of Australia's most popular and iconic beaches followed a wave of antisemitic attacks that have roiled the country over the past year, although the authorities didn't suggest those episodes and Sunday's shooting were connected. They said one of the gunmen was known to the security services, but that there had been no specific threat.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared it “an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation.”
“This attack was designed to target Sydney's Jewish community,” the state's Premier Chris Minns said. The massacre was declared a terrorist attack due to the event targeted and weapons used, Lanyon said.
Hundreds had gathered for the gathering at Bondi Beach called Chanukah by the Sea, which was celebrating the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival.
Chabad identified one of the dead as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the event,
Chabad is an Orthodox Jewish movement that is known for its outreach to non-religious Jews. It runs scores of centers around the world that are popular with Jewish travelers and often sponsors large public events during major Jewish holidays.
Video footage filmed by onlookers appeared to show two gunmen with long guns firing from a bridge. One dramatic clip apparently filmed by a member of the public and broadcast on Australian television channels showed someone appearing to tackle and disarm one of the gunmen, before pointing the man’s weapon at him.
Lachlan Moran, 32, from Melbourne, was waiting for his family nearby when he heard shots, he told The Associated Press. He dropped the beer he was carrying for his brother and ran.
“You heard a few pops, and I freaked out and ran away. ... I started sprinting. I just had that intuition. I sprinted as quickly as I could," Moran said. He said he heard shooting off and on for about five minutes.
“Everyone just dropped all their possessions and everything and were running and people were crying and it was just horrible," Moran said.
Grace, 30, from Melbourne, who declined to give her last name, and her partner Joel Sargent, 30, told the AP they were in their hotel room when they heard a banging sound and looked out of their window to see people running down the street, hiding behind trees and cars.
“People were screaming, and the gun sounded so loud," Grace said. "It was constant; it would have been over 50 (shots), easily.”
Police said emergency services were called to Campbell Parade in Bondi about 6.45 p.m. responding to reports of shots being fired.
Police said their operation was ongoing and officers were examining a number of suspicious items, including several improvised explosive devices found in one of the suspect's cars.
Albanese told reporters in Canberra that he was “devastated” by the massacre.
“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith, an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation,” Albanese said.
Albanese said the authorities were working to identify everyone involved in the attack. He said "the trauma and loss that families are dealing with tonight is beyond anyone’s worst nightmare,
“Let me be clear we will eradicate it amidst this vile act of violence and hate will emerge a moment of national unity where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish faith,” he said.
World leaders expressed condolences. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the “ghastly terrorist attack” and offered his condolences to the families who lost their loved ones
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being updated on the “appalling attack.” Police in London said they would step up security at Jewish sites following the attack in Australia.
Australia, a country of 28 million people, is home to about 117,000 Jews, according to official figures. Antisemitic incidents including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation surged more than threefold in the country during the year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the government's Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal reported in July.
Throughout last summer, the country was rocked by spate of antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Synagogues and cars were torched, businesses and homes graffitied and Jews attacked in those cities, where 85% of the nation’s Jewish population live.
Albanese in August blamed Iran for two of the attacks and cut diplomatic ties to Tehran. The authorities didn't make such claims about Sunday's massacre.
Israel urged Australia's government to address crimes targeting Jews.
“The heart of the entire nation of Israel misses a beat at this very moment,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “We repeat our alerts time and time again to the Australian government to seek action and fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society.”
Mass shooting s in Australia are extremely rare. A 1996 massacre in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur, where a lone gunman killed 35 people, prompted the government to drastically tighten gun laws and made it much more difficult for Australians to acquire firearms.
Significant mass shootings this century included two murder-suicides with death tolls of five people in 2014, and seven in 2018, in which gunmen killed their own families and themselves.
In 2022, six people were killed in a shootout between police and Christian extremists at a rural property in Queensland state.
McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia, and Graham-McLay from Wellington, New Zealand. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
A small Christmas tree is at the center of an abandoned holiday picnic at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Bystanders stay where police cordon off an area at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Emergency workers standby at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
