Resiliant Pacers will not go away, force Game 7 Sunday after dominant 108-91 Game 6 win vs. Thunder
INDIANAPOLIS — Hanging in the rafters of the Gainbridge Fieldhouse are three Pacers ABA championship banners — every one of them was won on the road.
The Pacers are now just one more road win away from their first NBA championship.
With its season on the line, the Pacers demonstrated the resilience that had brought them to this point, led by their All-NBA point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, who played through a strained calf, still scored 14 points, and was +25 on the night.
'I felt like he did amazing today, he led us to win. He's a soldier, he's never going to let a little injury keep him from playing in the Finals, from leading us to a win,' Obi Toppin said of Haliburton.
In Game 6 the Pacers played their best game of the postseason — they just kept making plays.
LISTEN TO THAT CROWD POP 🔊🔊
PACERS FANS WANT GAME 7!! https://t.co/ekecaau40O pic.twitter.com/3S1LfayEj2
That's who these Pacers have been all playoffs and it's why there will be a Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday after a 108-91 win in Game 6.
The Pacers played with the desperation of a team trying to save its season. Their ball movement was as crisp as it has been these playoffs. More importantly, they cranked up the pressure defense and forced 21 Thunder turnovers — MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 7 made buckets and 8 turnovers on the night — which led to transition buckets going the other way.
OH MY GOODNESS THIS PACERS SEQUENCE 🤯
HALIBURTON STEAL.
HALIBURTON NO-LOOK DIME.
SIAKAM SLAM WITH FORCE.
Indy seeking a Game 7 on ABC 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hr7RKcCUbq
This game was decided in the second quarter.
That's when Indiana's defensive intensity overwhelmed the Thunder reserves, and things started to spiral. OKC shot 6-of-18 for the quarter and turned the ball over seven times, which sparked a 30-9 run by Indiana to close the second. The turnovers and misses allowed the Pacers to get out in transition, and they thrived in their element with a raucous crowd soaking up every minute of it. By halftime it was 64-42 Indiana and it was in total control.
T.J. McConnell got going in the second quarter. It started doing something he has done all series — attacking whenever Aaron Wiggins (or Isaiah Joe) is the defender. But once McConnell got a couple of buckets that way, the basket looked huge and he was hitting midrangers over everyone. He finished with a dozen points on the night.
Any dreams of a Thunder comeback were snuffed out when they failed to score on their first eight possessions of the second half. While there was a flicker of life late in the third, the Thunder cut the lead to 19, the game was never really in doubt.
Indiana did it with balance, led by Toppin scoring 20 off the bench. Andrew Nembhard scored 17, Pascal Siakam added 16, and there was Haliburton's inspirational 14.
'Everybody was tied together, and that's how it has to be,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'We did better rebounding, we did better on the turnover count, and on Sunday we're going to have to be better.'
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 on 7-of-15 shooting but had eight turnovers. Jalen Williams had 16 points, and as a team the Thunder were 8-of-30 on 3-pointers.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Huge 2026 NFL mock draft update rebuilds Steelers offense
We are a month away from the start of NFL training camps and just after that, the college football season will kick off. So we thought now was the perfect time to update our five-round mock draft for the 2026 NFL draft. As things stand right now, we have five quarterbacks with a first-round grade and depending how the college season plays out, there should be a potential franchise quarterback on the board when the Steelers pick in the first round. This time around we utilized the mock draft simulator from Mock Draft Database that utilizes projected compensatory picks and very up to date prospect rankings. First round - QB Fernando Mendoza - Indiana The Steelers pick No. 15 overall in this mock and a run on quarterbacks leave them with Indiana's Fernando Mendoza. He's not a household name yet but by the time the draft gets here, he should be one of the first four quarterbacks off the board. Second round - CB Jalon Kilgore - South Carolina Kilgore has prototypical NFL size and athleticism and showed a ton of growth last season in his coverage technique. Third round - TE Max Klare - Purdue We are rooting for Darnell Washington but if tight end becomes a bigger part of the offense, a pick like Klare as a receiving weapon makes a lot of sense. Third round - WR Nic Anderson - LSU Anderson is healthy and getting a fresh start at LSU. He is good at everything and has no real glaring weaknesses to his game. Third round - RB Jonah Coleman - Washington If Jaylen Warren leaves after the season, the Steelers will need to add a back to go with Kaleb Johnson. Coleman is a powerful, squatty back with impressive balance truly elite vision with sneaky athleticism. Fourth round - OT Drew Shelton - Penn State Massive powerfuly run blocker who just overwhelms defenders with his size and power. Fourth round - S Keon Sabb - Alabama Exceptional developmental safety who might end up going much sooner than this if he can develop more in coverage Fifth round - IOL - Febechi Nwaiwu - Oklahoma Nwaiwu transfered to Oklahoma last season and after he got up to speed, really looked good as the team's starting right tackle. We expect him to make another big jump in 2025 and he could be Isaac Seumalos' replacement. Fifth round - WR Germie Bernard - Alabama Alabama is Bernard's third FBS team in four seasons. He's not spectacular in any area but he's found a way to develop as a really reliable possession receiver if he can just have some stability in coaching and scheme. This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: 2026 NFL mock draft lands Steelers Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mavericks Vet Makes Major Free Agency Decision: Report
Mavericks Vet Makes Major Free Agency Decision: Report originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Following a 2024 playoff run that led them back to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years, the Dallas Mavericks' future looked pretty bright in 2024-25. Advertisement But Dallas general manager Nico Harrison shocked the world when he traded franchise centerpiece Luka Donic, already a five-time All-NBA First Teamer with the club at age 25, to the Los Angeles Lakers for a relatively muted return. Doncic and big men Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris were shipped off to L.A. in exchange for oft-hurt 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, who was 31 at the time, plus shooting guard Max Christie and a single future first round draft pick. The Lakers and Mavericks both rerouted 2025 second round selections to the Utah Jazz, as L.A. needed to include a third team to take on the contract of little-used second-year guard Jalen Hood-Schifino. Bringing in Davis, still a terrific two-way player, for the much younger Doncic wasn't a terrible All-Star-for-All-Star haul if Harrison was truly unconvinced that Doncic was capable of repeating his 2024 success — the big issue was the returning draft equity. For comparison's sake, the Orlando Magic just had to surrender four first round picks, plus one first round pick swap, to acquire shooting guard Desmond Bane — who has never been an All-Star and gets hurt with frustrating frequency — from the Memphis Grizzlies. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Harrison's asset management came under harsh scrutiny... for a time. Advertisement But when the Mavericks fell out of the playoff hunt and lucked into the No. 1 pick in this month's upcoming 2025 NBA Draft (sure to be Duke superstar forward Cooper Flagg), all was (almost) forgiven. Now, another key roster piece has made a decision on his future in Dallas. Sources inform Marc Stein of The Stein Line (via Substack) that reserve big man Dwight Powell has picked up his $4 million player option for 2025-26. His deadline to do so was Tuesday, a day before the start of the draft. Last year, the 6-foot-10 Stanford product played sparingly last season, and likely predicted that he wasn't going to be able to surpass that $4 million (a notch above what he'd fetch with a veteran's minimum contract) on the open market. In 55 contests, the 33-year-old averaged 2.1 points on .689/.400/.651 shooting splits and 2.1 rebounds. Advertisement Related: Fresh Intel Reveals Mavericks' Strong Stance on Cooper Flagg This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox Sports
2 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Las Vegas takes on Indiana, seeks to stop 3-game skid
Associated Press Indiana Fever (6-6, 6-5 Eastern Conference) at Las Vegas Aces (5-7, 3-6 Western Conference) Las Vegas; Sunday, 3 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Las Vegas Aces heads into the matchup with Indiana Fever after losing three straight games. The Aces are 3-3 on their home court. Las Vegas ranks fifth in the Western Conference at limiting opponent scoring, allowing 83.1 points while holding opponents to 45.6% shooting. The Fever have gone 2-3 away from home. Indiana is eighth in the WNBA with 33.8 rebounds per game. Aliyah Boston paces the Fever with 8.1. Las Vegas is shooting 39.4% from the field this season, 2.5 percentage points lower than the 41.9% Indiana allows to opponents. Indiana averages 83.4 points per game, 0.3 more than the 83.1 Las Vegas allows. The matchup Sunday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams. TOP PERFORMERS: A'ja Wilson is shooting 44.2% and averaging 20.8 points for the Aces. Jackie Young is averaging 18.9 points over the last 10 games. Boston is averaging 13.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 blocks for the Fever. Kelsey Mitchell is averaging 16.6 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 38.9% over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Aces: 4-6, averaging 78.8 points, 31.5 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 40.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.3 points per game. Fever: 5-5, averaging 81.8 points, 32.7 rebounds, 19.4 assists, 6.2 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.6 points. INJURIES: Aces: Cheyenne Parker-Tyus: out (personal), Megan Gustafson: out (leg). Fever: DeWanna Bonner: out (personal). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. recommended
