Tyrese Haliburton shrugged off any injury worries to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 116-107 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, Afrosport reports.
Haliburton, who was reportedly nursing a leg injury but confirmed his availability at a press conference on Tuesday, dropped a near triple-double of 22 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis—the Pacers’ first NBA Finals home game in 25 years.
DIDN’T BACK DOWN
#PacersWin pic.twitter.com/NQLtMEpmcn
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 12, 2025
The Pacers once again rallied to pick up the win, but only this time it was not a huge margin. Behind by just five points heading into the fourth quarter, Indiana held the Thunder to 35% shooting, outscoring them 32-18 to claim victory.
OKC, who finished the regular season with a 61-2 record when leading into the final quarter, are now 1-2 in the NBA Finals against the Pacers, who have built a reputation for surmounting improbable deficits.
Indiana, meanwhile, was significantly aided by the brilliance of their substitutes, edging OKC 49-18 in bench points, with Bennedict Mathurin pouring in a game-high 27 points off the bench, while TJ McConnell finished with 10 points, five assists, and five steals.
“Our bench was really big tonight as a whole, you know, so we need that consistently; we preached depth,” said Haliburton. “We’ve talked about it all year. So, you know, our second unit did a great job of being prepared today.”
Head coach Rick Carlisle added: “I mean, those guys were tremendous. And TJ just brought a competitive will to the game. You know, Mathurin jumped in there and immediately was aggressive and got the ball in the basket.
“Look, 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.”
Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam had his best scoring game of the series so far, pouring in 21 points, while Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith combined for 24.
Tyrese Haliburton with a near triple-double in his first @NBA Finals win at @GainbridgeFH
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 12, 2025
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 26 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 24, and Chet Holmgren finished with 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Pacers are now 10-0 in the game following a defeat since mid-March and currently hold home-court advantage with the series now at 2-1. Indiana can also rely on history for more confidence; when the series is tied at 1-1, the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the NBA Finals 33 times in the last 41 seasons.
The NBA Finals will return for Game 4 on Friday night with the Pacers hoping to extend their lead, while OKC will be looking to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole.
