INDIANAPOLIS — Posting up on Alex Caruso, Pascal Siakam scored on a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to go into halftime. On the next quarter, Ben Sheppard matched his teammates’ feat with his buzzer-beater on a last-season 3-pointer to put Indiana up by 30 points after three quarters.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were embarrassed in a 108-91 Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers. The 2025 NBA Finals are tied at 3-3, which means a decisive Game 7 will decide the championship winner.

“First of all, credit Indiana. I thought they obviously earned the win. They outplayed us for most of the 48 minutes. That’s the story of the game. They went out there and attacked the game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “From our standpoint, it was uncharacteristic. It was disappointing. It was collective. It wasn’t one guy. Just we were not where we needed to be on either end of the floor for much of the game. We have to be a lot better before Game 7.”

A chance to close on the road, the Thunder started like a team that wanted to end the night covered in champagne. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams got into a groove early and built a 10-2 lead. The Pacers looked lost. Tyrese Haliburton looked a step slow. The Indiana crowd was quiet.

Then the Pacers ripped off a 24-7 run to retake the momentum. Andrew Nembhard stepped up as lead scorer. The Thunder suddenly couldn’t get to the basket. The Pacers had a 28-25 lead after the first quarter. If you were OKC, you had to feel good about that spot. It couldn’t waste a golden opportunity.

The Pacers ran the Thunder out of the gym. TJ McConnell continues to be a pest. Aaron Nesmith’s corner 3-pointers demoralized OKC. A miscue between Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren on an alley-oop attempt directly led to another outside bucket. A few possessions later, Holmgren’s outside attempt was blocked by Myles Turner.

Everything went the Pacers’ way with a 36-17 scoring advantage. The Thunder entered halftime in a 64-42 deficit. Barring a historic comeback, these teams were set to face off one last time. As a lastditch adjustment, the Thunder went with Alex Caruso over Hartenstein to start the second half.

The results were mixed. The Pacers couldn’t buy a bucket. The Thunder’s speed kept up with Indiana. The problem was on the other end, though. For the first four minutes, both teams exchanged misses. Then Haliburton’s layup finally registered as the first second-half points.

It took Gilgeous-Alexander’s

lob to Hartenstein for the Thunder to finally break their scoring drought after nearly five minutes. But by then, the outcome was decided. The Pacers got in a groove and had a 26-18 scoring advantage in the third frame.

Sheppard’s last-second 3-pointer was enough for the Thunder to wave the white flag. They exited the third frame in a 90-60 hole. The Thunder cleared the bench to start the fourth quarter. They prettied up the final score with points in the frame, but that was purely aesthetic. Meanwhile, the Pacers led by as many as 31 points.

The Thunder shot 42% from the field and went 8-of-30 (26.7%) from 3. They shot 21-of-26 on free throws. They had 14 assists on 41 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points. Gilgeous-Alexander had a quiet 21 points. Williams only tallied 16 points. Hartenstein finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Isaiah Joe scored 11 points off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 41% from the field and went 15-of-42 (35.7%) from 3. They shot 17-of-25 on free throws. They had 23 assists on 38 baskets. Six Pacers players scored double-digit points.

Haliburton gutted out 14 points and five assists. Siakam finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Nembhard had 17 points and four assists. Nesmith scored 10 points. Off the bench, Toppin had 20 points and McConnell tallied 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Things could’ve gone any worse for the Thunder. They’ve struggled on the road all of the playoffs, but to this extent is rare. They played like a team that had two chances to clinch, while the Pacers looked like a team fighting for their season. Everything went wrong for OKC. It will get a chance to reset with Game 7 back at home.

For the next couple of days, though, they’ll sit on this nasty loss. The Thunder had a chance to clinch their first championship on the road after two straight wins over the Pacers. They now get one more opportunity to do that back home. Although most OKC fans preferred it to be done now.

“It was hard tonight. Indiana was great and we were not. We have the same opportunity Indiana does on Sunday. Score will be 0-0 when the ball goes up in the air,” Daigneault said. “It’s a privilege to play in Game 7s. It’s a privilege to play in the Finals. As disappointing as tonight was, we’re grateful for the opportunity. We put in a lot of work this season to be able to play that game at home, which is exciting to be able to do it in front of our fans.”

As for game 7, The Thunder have been here before, having been handily beaten by the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of their second-round series only to turn around and blow out the Nuggets at home in Game 7.

It’s safe to say a Thunder team that was quite apparently aware that it had a home Game 7 in its back pocket Thursday night will not be the same one that shows up on Sunday. Gone was the swarming defense. Gone was the good shot selection. Gone was the accuracy and efficiency from the field and from deep.

Even MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was off his game in a relatively sloppy effort that produced 21 points, two assists and eight turnovers. None of his teammates was up to the task either.

Jalen Williams went scoreless after a 16-point first half. Luguentz Dort attempted just five shots and made one in a threepoint effort. Alex Caruso (zero points, zero steals) and Cason Wallace (two points, one steal) were non-factors off the bench.

“We sucked tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

No, this is not the same Thunder team the Pacers should expect when they return to Oklahoma City for Game 7. They should fully anticipate the unit that won 68 games in the regular season and survived a Western Conference playoff gantlet to show up Sunday.

In that case, it will be up to the Pacers to dig deep for another effort like they produced in Game 6 to compete for the franchise’s first NBA title.

The fans will get one last chance to see or watch them on TV on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, ABC) as the Pacers and Thunder play for the NBA championship. It will mark the 20th Game 7 in NBA history.

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