The 2025 NBA Playoffs reach their dramatic finale tonight as the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder face off in a winner-take-all Game 7.
It’s been quite a series filled with surprises, perhaps none greater than the Pacers’ massive victory in Game 6 at home to stave off elimination and force tonight’s Game 7.
The series now returns to Oklahoma City for a final battle between the two offensive juggernauts.
Updated 2025 NBA Playoff Bracket
This Finals have, more or less, followed a pattern we’ve seen all postseason: Indiana’s relentless pace and late-game resilience giving it the edge over higher seeds, while Oklahoma City has answered every setback with a statement win.
The Pacers too have responded with victories after every loss — until Game 5. So the big question tonight is whether the Thunder’s pattern of avoiding consecutive defeats continues tonight or ends.
The bracket now shows a tied series at 3–3. This is the first NBA Finals to go to a Game 7 since 2016.
Thursday, June 19 — NBA Finals Game 6 Recap
Indiana Pacers 113, Oklahoma City Thunder 89
NBA Finals tied 3–3
The Pacers came out cold in Game 6, scoring just two points in the opening four minutes. But once they found their rhythm, they stormed ahead with an 8–0 burst to tie the game, grabbed the lead shortly after, and never looked back — leading by as much as 31 in the fourth quarter.
By then, the Thunder had already benched their starters.
Indiana flipped the script by limiting their own mistakes and turning up the pressure on OKC. The Thunder had 21 turnovers — Indiana had only 10. The Pacers racked up 16 steals and turned those into 22 fast-break points.
Pascal Siakam led the way with 25 points, while Tyrese Haliburton, playing through a calf strain, logged 5 assists in just 23 minutes. T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin were critical off the bench, with McConnell leading the team with 6 assists and Toppin leading with 20 points.
For OKC, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled under heavy defense, scoring 21 points but committing 8 turnovers. Jalen Williams added 16 points but couldn’t break Indiana’s defensive wall.
Sunday, June 22 — NBA Finals Game 7 Preview
Tonight’s Game 7 is the biggest of both teams — just not just this season, but in their entire histories.
The Thunder have never won a championship while in OKC. (They won an NBA title 1979 as the Seattle Supersonics.)
And Indiana, despite the state’s historic ties with the game of basketball, has no NBA titles to its name.
So it’s safe to say there’s a lot of pent up hope, pressure, and decades of heartbreak riding on every possession tonight.
The Thunder return home to Paycom Center, where they boast one of the best playoff home records in the league. They’ve answered every loss with a win all playoffs, and the pattern suggests they’ll be ready.
But Indiana has defied the odds all spring. And they’ve come too far to let this game go without a fight, with their first championship is in reach.
Defense will be what wins tonight’s game — and the NBA title. These Finals have been a masterclass in pace and adjustments. Tonight we’ll see just what changes the two head coaches, Mark Daigneault for the Thunder and Rick Carlisle for the Pacers, have up their sleeves.
Game and Series Prediction: Thunder pull through in the fourth quarter, winning by single digits to claim the title.
Time: 8:00 PM Eastern
Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: ABC
Streaming: ABC and ESPN apps
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