Pacers still in the hunt, our bets are still live!
It wasn't just a win, it was a cruise for Indiana as they led OKC from 4:48 onwards, the NBA and the TV gets what it wants and a game 7 all of nothing duel, and we get to keep our fingers crossed that Indiana can get a win in Oklahoma on Sunday night.
The Pacers' Championship odds are carved down from 11.00 to 3.75, which for a one off game, on a court they have already won in the finals, seems like a decent price to us.
At time of publishing the futures odds for winning the 2024/25 NBA Championships look like this:
OKC: best odds 1.3 (out from 1.07)
Indiana: best odds 3.75 (in from 11.00)
PACERS 108, THUNDER 91
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Pacers, odds 2.81
Line: Pacers (+5.5), odds 1.918
Total Points: Under (222.5) odds 1.909
Pre-game Prediction
Thunder, 67.7%
Pacers, 32.3%
Series is tied 3-3
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers did not let another home-court opportunity slip away Thursday night.
Not with a raucous crowd on its feet almost from start to finish, not with Reggie Miller and nearly a dozen former Pacers cheering them on and certainly not with the first NBA title in franchise just two wins away.
So the Pacers dug down, fought through injuries and finally played their way. They knocked down 3-pointers, forced turnovers and had the heavily gold-clad crowd doing high-fives between the third and fourth quarters as Indiana extended its season with a 108-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The winner-take-all Game 7 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
“They rallied and got behind our group and here's a do or die game and as much as we didn't want to lose this game and see a celebration on our floor, our fans didn't want to see that either,” Tyrese Haliburton said after finishing with 14 points and five assists in 23 minutes on a strained right calf.
Haliburton saw it himself last year when he watched helplessly from the sidelines for the Games 3 and 4 of last season's Eastern Conference final sweep by eventual champion Boston. He was there again for Game 4 when the Pacers blew a seven-point, fourth quarter lead to blow the home-court edge they earned courtesy of Haliburton's last second shot to beat the Thunder in Game 1.
Those results made this more than a win-or-go-home scenario for the Pacers.
This time their boisterous crowd made sure it wasn't close.
“This is the loudest I've ever heard Gainbridge (Fieldhouse) or Conseco (Fieldhouse),” coach Rick Carlisle joked, referring to the only other time the finals were played in Indy in 2000. “The crowd was absolutely tremendous and we're playing the best team on the planet.”
The Pacers found inspiration everywhere they looked after suffering their first back-to-back losses since March 10.
First, Haliburton had to convince trainers he could play — and play effectively. Then after missing eight straight shots to open the game, Indiana made eight of its next 10 to take the lead. And then, as usual, it was off to the races though that's been far more difficult in this series.
The Pacers took control midway through the second quarter . By the time the third quarter ended, Indiana led 90-60 as the smattering of Oklahoma City fans inside the arena watched glumly as Pacers fans traded high-fives in the home finale.
“We came here with the energy we needed, and we had an amazing crowd,” Obi Toppin said after leading the Pacers with 20 points. “Amazing fans, best fans in the world who helped us throughout this game. We went out there and did what we had to do to get this win.”
Haliburton made it clear back in September the goal was not just to get back to the conference finals and not just to reach the finals. After winning an Olympic gold medal last summer, he wanted to give the city of Indianapolis the kind of celebration it would never forget. And now the Pacers are one win away from making it really happen.
“I don't even want to say, you know, celebrate this one,” Haliburton said. “We did our job to take care of home court, and we've got to be ready to do it again in Game 7.”
