2025 NBA Finals - Game Two
Source: William Purnell / Getty
(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK) – Oklahoma City uses a 35-9 run between the first and second quarters to cruise to a 123-107 victory to even the NBA Finals at a game apiece.
1. First Quarter
2025 NBA Finals - Game Two Source:Getty
For the eighteenth consecutive playoff game, the Indiana Pacers starting lineup featured Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. As for the Oklahoma City Thunder, they ran it back with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. In game one, Indiana never had the lead until the final three tenths of a second. That would be different tonight as Indiana took an early 3-2 advantage when Siakam buried a three on Indiana’s first possession. OKC would possess the lead for the next nine minutes. Haliburton’s first three of the game broke a 17-17 tie to give the Pacers the lead. Indiana’s offense stalled the final 2:43. The Thunder concluded the quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 26-20 advantage to the second quarter. After an underwhelming performance in game one, Holmgren led all players in scoring with 9 points in the quarter. Indiana was led by Nembhard with 6 points. Indiana settled a lot in the first quarter, taking 14 three pointers and only 7 two-point shots. The Pacers shot 33% from the field and 36% from three-point range. OKC shot 48% from the field and 36% from distance.
2. Second Quarter
2025 NBA Finals - Game Two Source:Getty
Indiana’s struggles at the end of the first quarter would carry over into the start of the second quarter. Through five minutes of play in the quarter, the Thunder pushed their lead to 42-27 with a Holmgren dunk. OKC bridged the end of the first quarter and start of the second quarter with a 25-7 run to be in full control. After the Indiana timeout, Oklahoma City continued to dominate the Pacers in the first half. SGA drove to the basket and put his team up by 23 points with a layup with 4:48 remaining in the half. In totality, Indiana was outscored 35-9 after taking a 20-17 lead in the next 9:42. The Pacers did play better to close the half, but the Thunder still led 59-41 at halftime. Gilgeous-Alexander started making an impact on the game, scoring 9 points in the quarter. Indiana was led in the quarter by Siakam with 6 points. Only two players were in double figures in the first half, SGA with 15 points and Holmgren with 11 points. Indiana’s leading scorers were Siakam and Nembhard each with 9 points. Haliburton was silent, recording 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in the first half. As a team, Indiana shot 35% from the field and 32% from three-point range. OKC was shooting 51% from the field and 37% from long range.
3. Third Quarter
2025 NBA Finals - Game Two Source:Getty
In game one, Indiana started figuring things out in the second half because they started playing Pacers basketball. They would play a fine third quarter offensively tonight, but OKC was just as good. Turner cut the deficit for Indiana down to 15 points after scoring the first three points of the half. With 7:09 left in the quarter, Indiana would carve into the OKC lead with a Nembhard layup to make it a 69-56 game in the third quarter. However, the Thunder pushed the lead back to 19 points when Aaron Wiggins connected on another three-pointer. It was an endless cycle of the Pacers shaving a few points off their deficit, and then the Thunder extending it right back out. With two minutes left in the period, Alex Caruso converted both free throws to push the Oklahoma City lead back to twenty points. After three quarters, Indiana was down 93-74 despite putting up 33 points in the quarter. SGA added 12 more points to his total, bringing it up to 27 points with a quarter to play. Caruso was big in the quarter with 7 points off the bench. As for Indiana, Turner was the team’s leading scorer with 10 points in the quarter followed by Nesmith with 9 points. Oklahoma City’s role players were playing much better after three quarters. Holmgren, Williams, and Caruso all had 15 points and Wiggins had 11 points. As for Indiana, Siakam was leading the team with 15 points, followed by Nesmith and Turner with 14 points, and Nembhard with 11 points. Haliburton only had 5 points on 2/7 shooting, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds.
4. Fourth Quarter
2025 NBA Finals - Game Two Source:Getty
Even though the Pacers have pulled off miracles in this postseason run, tonight’s game had a different feel than the others. They didn’t have any answers for anything that the Thunder were doing offensively or defensively. Even though the Pacers were scoring, they weren’t getting stops. The two teams were matching basket for basket. The Pacers didn’t cut their deficit under 20 points until there were four minutes remaining when Haliburton connected on a three-pointer. OKC called a timeout, and Rick Carlisle elected to waive the white flag and pull all his starters. Oklahoma City played its starters for just a little while longer, but SGO, Holmgren, and Williams all went to the bench with 2:42 left in the game. All the scoring to end the game was for statistical purposes. The Thunder even the series at a game a piece with a dominating 123-107 victory.
5. Top Performers
2025 NBA Finals - Game Two Source:Getty
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (34p, 8a, 5r, 4s, 1b), Alex Caruso (20p, 3r), Jalen Williams (19p, 5r, 5a), Aaron Wiggins (18p, 4r), and Chet Holmgren (15p, 6r). For Indiana, Tyrese Haliburton (17p, 6a, 3r, 2s, 2b), Myles Turner (16p, 4r, 4a), Pascal Siakam (15p, 7r, 4a, 2b), Aaron Nesmith (14p, 4r), Bennedict Mathurin (14p, 2r), Andrew Nembhard (11p, 4r, 4a, 3s), and T.J. McConnell (11p, 6a, 3r, 2s). For tonight’s full box score, click here.
6. Notes
2025 NBA Finals - Game Two Source:Getty
Indiana is now 13-5 in the playoffsIndiana is 0-5 when scoring under 110 points
Indiana is 7-3 on the road in the playoffs
Indiana is 13-0 when shooting 45% from the field of betterIndiana is 0-5 when shooting worse than 45% from the field
Indiana did not have a 20-point scorer in either game in OKC, first time this season a player hasn’t scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games
Indiana has been held to 34 points in the paint in each of the two games against OKCIndiana averaged 50 points in the paint during the regular season
Indiana was +17 in rebounding in game one, and -8 in game two
Oklahoma City is 13-5 in the playoffs
Oklahoma City is 8-2 at home in the playoffs
Oklahoma City is now 30-2 against Eastern Conference teams
When road team splits first 2 games on the road, they win the series 41% of the time
Alex Caruso’s 20 points are the most he has scored in any game this season
Aaron Wiggins’ 18 points are the most points in a playoff game since scoring 21 points in game one against Memphis on April 20th
Aaron Wiggins’ 5 threes are a playoff career highMost threes in a game since making 5 against San Antonio on March 2nd
Myles Turner did not record a block for the 4th time this postseason
Obi Toppin snapped his streak of 3 consecutive playoff games with 10+ points
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30+ points in 13 games this postseason9 straight home playoff games with 30+ points, ties NBA history
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led his team in scoring in 16 of the 18 playoff gamesAaron Wiggins 21 points in game one versus Memphis
Jalen Williams 32 points in game three versus Denver
Tyrese Haliburton’s 5 turnovers tied the most in a playoff game this postseason
7. Next Up
New York Knicks v Indiana Pacers - Game Six Source:Getty
Indiana and Oklahoma City will have two days off with the series shifting to Indianapolis. Tipoff is back to 8:30pm on Wednesday night like it was for game one. Pat Boylan, Mark Boyle, and Eddie Gill will get things started at 8pm with pregame coverage on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.
Here is the NBA Finals Schedule:
Thursday, June 5 | Game 1 at Oklahoma City | Indiana 111 – Oklahoma City 110
Sunday, June 8 | Game 2 at Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City 123 – Indiana 107
Wednesday, June 11 | Game 3 in Indianapolis – 8:30pm
Friday, June 13 | Game 4 in Indianapolis – 8:30pm
Monday, June 16 | Game 5 at Oklahoma City – 8:30pm
Thursday, June 19 | Game 6 in Indianapolis – 8:30pm
Sunday, June 22 | Game 7 at Oklahoma City – 8pm