The Indiana Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Wednesday 11 June US time, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, with Bennedict Mathurin scoring a game-high 27 points off the bench, ABC and NBA.com reported.
The Pacers’ bench outscored Oklahoma City’s 49-18 on the night, NBA.com reported.
The Comeback
The Thunder led by five going into the fourth quarter, at 89-84, before the Pacers outscored them 32-18 in the period and closed the game out on the way to the 116-107 win, ABC and NBA.com reported.
Tyrese Haliburton finished with 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Pascal Siakam added 21, according to ABC and NBA.com. It was the first NBA Finals game played in Indianapolis since 2000.
The Bench
Mathurin’s 27 points were a playoff career high, scored in 22 minutes and on 12 shot attempts, 9 of 12 from the field. He is the third player to score at least 25 points off the bench in an NBA Finals game, after Jason Terry and Manu Ginobili, and the youngest to do it since starting-player designations were first fully recorded in 1970-71, NBA.com reported.
The last player with 27 points off the bench in the Finals was Jason Terry, for Dallas in 2011, coached then by Rick Carlisle, who now coaches these Pacers, according to NBA.com and ABC.
T.J. McConnell added 10 points, five assists and five steals in 15 minutes, the first player to record at least 10 points, five assists and five steals off the bench in a Finals game since steals became an official statistic in 1973-74. Obi Toppin added eight points and six rebounds for the Pacers, according to NBA.com.
The Thunder
Jalen Williams top-scored for Oklahoma City with 26 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24, but only three of them came in the fourth quarter, and Chet Holmgren finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, according to NBA.com and BBC Sport.
Oklahoma City turned the ball over 19 times in the game, and the Pacers scored 21 points from those turnovers, NBA.com reported.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said, in comments reported by NBA.com and BBC Sport: “He seems to have a game like this in every series. He’s a talented player. He was really aggressive. He did a great job. McConnell did a great job. Their bench really came in the game and was excellent.”
He added: “In the fourth quarter I just thought they really outplayed us on both ends.”
What’s Next
The best-of-seven series stays in Indianapolis for Game 4 on Friday night local time, BBC Sport reported.
In the 41 previous NBA Finals tied at one game apiece, the Game 3 winner went on to win the title 33 times, ABC reported. The Pacers have also gone 10-0 since mid-March in the game immediately following a loss, ABC reported.
Haliburton said: “So many different guys chipped in. Ben Mathurin was amazing off the bench. We just had guys make plays after plays.” He added: “Our bench was amazing.”
Mathurin said: “The main thing is you have to be resilient. You have to be the aggressor in order to win games.”
McConnell said: “Just getting a win in general in the playoffs and in the Finals, it’s really hard. So, obviously, happy about this one, but have to move on. Have to still correct some stuff and make some adjustments.”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said: “This is the kind of team that we are. 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,” BBC Sport and NBA.com reported.
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Sources: ABC News, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-12/basketball-nba-finals-game-3-pacers-okc-wrap/105408854; NBA.com, https://www.nba.com/news/mathurin-mcconnell-provide-historic-boost-game-3-nba-finals; BBC Sport, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/basketball/articles/c0713vx3gpjo
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Illustrative: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the home arena of the Indiana Pacers, photographed in October 2012 when the venue was named Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The photograph is not from the NBA Finals or any game described in the article.