INDIANAPOLIS — Obi Toppin scored 20 points, Andrew Nembhard added 17 and the resilient Indiana Pacers sent the NBA Finals to a winner-take-all Game 7 by rolling past the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 on Thursday night.
Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, while Tyrese Haliburton — playing despite a strained calf — scored 14 points for the Pacers, who started slowly and then turned things into a blowout.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points for the Thunder, who pulled their starters after getting down by 30 going into the fourth. It was a rough night for Gilgeous-Alexander, who tied a career high with eight turnovers, tied for the most in an NBA Finals game in the past 40 years, according to ESPN Research. He shot 7 of 15, marking the first time since Dec. 7, 2022, that he had more turnovers than made field goals.
Jalen Williams added 16 points for Oklahoma City.
Game 7, the first one in the NBA Finals since 2016, will be Sunday night in Oklahoma City. Good news for the Thunder: Home teams are 15-4 in the ultimate game to decide a title. Bad news for the Thunder: Cleveland won at Golden State in the most recent NBA Finals Game 7 and one of the three other home-team losses was in 1978 — by Seattle, the franchise that moved to Oklahoma City three decades later.
Indiana missed its first eight shots and got down 10-2. Fans at the arena, roaring just a few minutes before at the start, quieted quickly. Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, sitting courtside in a Jalen Rose Pacers jersey, was pacing, kneeling, generally acting more nervous than he seemed as a player.
No need.
After the slow start, the Pacers outscored the Thunder 68-32 over the next 24 minutes. An Indiana team that hadn't led by more than 10 points
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