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A few days after they punched their ticket, the Oklahoma City Thunder finally learned their 2025 NBA Finals opponent. The Indiana Pacers blew out the New York Knicks in a 125-108 Game 6 win to set up this year's championship series.
The Thunder dominated their way to the NBA Finals. They went 12-4 against the West playoffs with mostly double-digit point wins. They beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was given the Western Conference Finals MVP.
Meanwhile, the Pacers got hot at the right time. A few late-game heroics paired with a high-scoring offense have catapulted them to the NBA Finals. Tyrese Haliburton has stepped up as one of the best playoff players. Pascal Siakam was given the Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
In their season series, the Thunder took both meetings against the Pacers. Let's look back at all four contests as they prepare to battle it out in the 2025 NBA Finals:
Dec. 26, 2024: Thunder 120, Pacers 114
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The day after Christmas, the Thunder and Pacers showed why the NBA should've scheduled them for the holiday slate. The Thunder survived a slow start that saw them fall into a double-digit deficit. But then they rattled off three straight 30-point quarters to complete the impressive road victory.
Gilgeous-Alexander was unstoppable with an efficient 45 points. He shot 11-of-11 on free throws as Indiana couldn't slow him down. Williams helped out with a blue-collar 20 points on 8-of-22 shooting. Hartenstein and Dort were OKC's other two double-digit scorers.
Meanwhile, Haliburton had a quiet four points. Siakam and Nembhard each scored 20-plus points, but that's exactly what the Thunder wanted to see as Indiana's best player was turned into just a playmaker. They still shot a decent percentage from the outside at nearly 39%.
This is a very replicable game plan for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander should continue his dominance. They can also limit Haliburton's scoring. It'll be interesting to see how Holmgren looks with OKC, though. Wallace was the fifth starter.
A full recap can be read here.
Mar. 29, 2025: Thunder 132, Pacers 111
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After a close first quarter, the Thunder blew this game open in the middle frames with a combined 73 points. It was another classic OKC contest where it suddenly blew the scoreboard open with a humongous run fueled by its turnover-happy defense.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 33 points. He was busy at the free-throw line with a 10-of-12 performance. Williams had an efficient 18 points. Plenty of Thunder role players stepped up. Dort had 22 points, Joe had 19 points, Wallace had 14 points and Kenrich Williams had 10 points.
Meanwhile, Haliburton was quiet again with just 18 points. He was Indiana's top scorer. It only shot 33% from deep. This was a forgettable game for them. They need better from their starters.
Meanwhile, for the Thunder, this could be a perfect formula to get one of their four wins. If the role players can step up and go on an avalanche run, expect there to be at least one blowout win for OKC in this series. It's happened so far in every playoff series.
A full recap can be read here.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Looking back at 2 matchups between Thunder, Pacers before NBA Finals
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