Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner speaks ahead of Game 7 of the NBA Finals
The Indiana Pacers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, June 22, 2025, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
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Reggie Miller's Behavior Toward Tyrese Haliburton Catches Attention
Reggie Miller's Behavior Toward Tyrese Haliburton Catches Attention originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Going into Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, it seemed like the Indiana Pacers were about to go six feet under. But they responded in a resounding way, and they're now very much alive and kicking. Advertisement Facing elimination, they mauled the Oklahoma City Thunder, 108-91, and the contest wasn't even as close as the final score may suggest. They had six players score in double figures, and they held the Thunder, one of the league's most productive offensive teams, to just 41.9% shooting from the field. Tyrese Haiburton, who shook off a calf injury to help lead the way, embraced Pacers legend Reggie Miller following the victory. The two teams will now battle in Game 7 on Sunday for the world championship. Fans reacted on X. "One more game," one user wrote. "PACERS ROYALTY 🏆," another user gushed. Someone else mused, "Pacers winning the Championship 🔥." Advertisement "Legends are part of the history 🔥," wrote a fourth user. "Suit up Reggie," a fifth user urged. "There it is! Cinderella story!" another fan added. Coming into this series, the Thunder were heavily favored. But the Pacers entered following a string of improbable victories over seemingly more talented teams. They upset the Cleveland Cavaliers, who finished first in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record, in the second round of the playoffs. Indiana stole the first two games of that series on the road and made a mockery of the Cavs in five games. It then yanked Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals from the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden and took that series in six contests. On Thursday, the team got back to its running game, which produced 22 fast-break points and forced 21 Thunder turnovers. Turnovers have been a significant story for both teams in this series, and both teams have played very impressive defense while maintaining a brisk pace. Advertisement Throughout the playoffs, Indiana has overcome sizable deficits late in games to score surprising wins, including in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It has shown tremendous resolve and grit, and now it has the opportunity to win it all. Related: Kendrick Perkins Shares Strong Statement on Thunder Star Amid NBA Finals This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
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Sports Fans Can't Get Enough of the 2025 NBA Finals … Debates
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No Matter the Outcome, Game 7 Is a Victory for Disney and the NBA
For the first time in nearly a decade, the NBA Finals will go the distance, as the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder get set to square off Sunday night in Game 7 of a series that has defied all expectations. 'One game. This is what it's all about,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle told reporters Thursday night after his team trounced OKC 108-91 to extend the NBA season by one last night. 'This is what you dream about growing up, this kind of opportunity.' If the Pacers are psyched to have forced a seventh game, the bonus ABC broadcast is also a dream come true for Rita Ferro. Thanks to Indiana's refusal to back down in the face of a 3-2 deficit, the president of Disney's advertising sales unit will max out the company's ROI, as overall in-game revenue for the Finals should approach the $300 million mark. As old-school sales execs are wont to say, if Game 6 is when you start to make a profit, Game 7 is all gravy. And while ABC's windfall may be somewhat reduced by the necessity of doling out the inevitable make-goods that are a function of a battle between two small-market teams, Ferro's team has ample cause for celebration. Through the fifth game of the Pacers-Thunder epic, ABC averaged 9.16 million viewers per night, and while the TV turnout has dwarfed everything else on the spring schedule, the deliveries are among the lowest in the modern Nielsen era. Game 5 managed a series-high 9.54 million viewers, but that marked a 22% decline versus last season's analogous Mavericks-Celtics capper, which scared up 12.2 million viewers. While ABC has been hampered by the small–town matchup—the Indianapolis and OKC markets are home to a combined 1.99 million TV households, accounting for just 1.6% of the national base—the necessity of a seventh game will go a long way toward moving the ratings needle. Per Nielsen, the spike in deliveries between Game 6 and Game 7 is vertiginous, with an average boost of 43.7%, or from 18.2 million to 26.1 million. Those figures were derived from the four NBA Finals that have gone the distance since the 21st century got underway; on a percentile basis, the greatest lift was recorded during the 2010 Celtics-Lakers series (+57%). In terms of the absolute number of viewers that were added between a sixth and seventh broadcast, the 2016 Cavaliers-Warriors classic beat all comers with a net gain of 10.3 million viewers. Since ABC is working from a much smaller base this year—Game 6 of that spellbinding Cleveland-Golden State series drew 20.7 million viewers, while the audience for the deciding game leapt all the way to 31 million—barring a blowout, the network can still expect to serve up around 15.5 million viewers with tonight's broadcast. While that's a far cry from the usual crowd that settles in for a Game 7, the NBA is almost certain to post its strongest in-game delivery since 2019. However the TV numbers shake out, the NBA is guaranteed to crown its seventh new champion in as many years, a streak that serves as a testament to the state of parity under commissioner Adam Silver. A Pacers win would mark the franchise's very first NBA title since it joined the league in 1976—Indiana earned ABA championships in 1970, 1972 and 1973—while Thunder precursors the Seattle SuperSonics hoisted the hardware in 1979. Game 7 tips off at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. OKC opened as 8.5-point homecourt favorites. More from Advertisement Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
