The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers are poised for an epic championship showdown at 10am Monday morning AEST, the Thunder seeking to crown a historic season with a victory over a tenacious Pacers team that has stunningly forced a rare NBA Finals game seven.
“We’ve got one game,” Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said. “One game. Nothing that has happened before matters and nothing that’s going to happen after matters. It’s all about that one game.” The Thunder certainly know it too.
“One game for everything you ever dreamt of,” Oklahoma City’s newly minted NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after the Thunder slumped to a blowout loss in game six.
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“If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing.”
The Thunder remain heavy favourites. A victory on their home floor on Sunday would crown a dazzling campaign in which they led the league with 68 regular-season wins and set a league record for average scoring margin.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA in scoring with 32.7 points per game and could become the first player since Golden State’s Stephen Curry in 2015 to win the MVP award and the title in the same season.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) moves the ball up court against the Indiana Pacers during the second half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) moves the ball up court against the Indiana Pacers during the second half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)Source: AP
In addition, home teams are 15-4 in Finals game sevens.
But the last time the championship series went the distance, in 2016, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a stunning triumph over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
And the Pacers have proven repeatedly this season, and in this series, that they can’t be counted out.
The Pacers opened their season with four straight defeats and at 10-15 were languishing in 10th place in the East with almost a third of the campaign gone.
But with a raft of injuries behind them, the Pacers had the best record in the East from New Year’s Day to the end of the regular season.
Seeded fourth in the East, the Pacers beat the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks, the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and the third-seeded New York Knicks to reach the Finals.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JUNE 19: Myles Turner #33 and Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers react during the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Six of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JUNE 19: Myles Turner #33 and Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers react during the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Six of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Haliburton, inexplicably voted the “most overrated” player in the league in an anonymous player poll this season, has had the last laugh with a string of clutch performances -- including the last-gasp game-winner in the Pacers’ 111-110 game-one triumph.
The Pacers won two of the first three games of the series before the Thunder won two straight to give themselves a first chance to clinch in game six -- when Haliburton shook off a right calf strain to inspire his teammates to a lopsided victory that knotted the series at three games apiece.
Now Indiana have a chance to claim a first NBA championship for a franchise that won three American Basketball Association titles but struggled so much financially after joining the NBA in 1976 that their future was in doubt.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JUNE 19: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers celebrates the 108-91 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Six of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Maddie Meyer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JUNE 19: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers celebrates the 108-91 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Six of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Maddie Meyer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP
“I think the expectations for this group from an external viewpoint coming into the year weren’t very high,” Haliburton said. “They weren’t very high coming into the playoffs. They weren’t very high going into the second round of the playoffs. They weren’t very high going into the third round. They weren’t very high now.
“I think we just have done a great job of just staying together. There’s not a group of guys I’d rather go to war with.”
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JUNE 19: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers is defended by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter in Game Six of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Maddie Meyer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JUNE 19: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers is defended by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter in Game Six of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Maddie Meyer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP
- Use the muscles -
The top-seeded Thunder swept the Memphis Grizzlies, then beat Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in seven games before ousting the Minnesota Timberwolves to become the youngest team to reach the Finals since 1977.
They can claim the franchise’s first title since a controversial move to Oklahoma City in 2008, having won it all in 1979 as the Seattle SuperSonics.
Gilgeous-Alexander says the Thunder have what it takes to win if they play to their potential.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots over Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, left, during the second half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots over Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, left, during the second half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)Source: AP
“I don’t think I have to do anything special because of the stage,” he said. “We just have to be who we’ve been all year and then use the muscles that we’ve trained all year.” Both teams stressed the importance of setting aside the emotion of the moment, but Gilgeous-Alexander said the Thunder must play with a sense of urgency against the relentless Pacers.
“It has to be an emphasis,” he said. “It has to be the top of our mind. It has to be all we care about, and above all, we just have to want to do it.”