How did SGA, Thunder grade out in Game 3 loss

DYLAN BUELL/GETTY IMAGES - Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers shoots the ball against Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein (55) and Jalen Williams (8) during Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 11 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

13 Jun 2025 The Oklahoman

Joe Mussatto and Jenni Carlson

The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK

INDIANAPOLIS — Now things get interesting for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.

After getting outscored by 14 points in the fourth quarter of a 116-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 Wednesday night, OKC now trails the best-ofseven series 2-1.

Game 4 is set for Friday night, but let’s get to the Game 3 grades first.

Taking care of the basketball: D

The Pacers beat the Thunder at OKC’s own game.

OKC was sloppy with the basketball. Indiana scored 21 points off of OKC’s turnovers.

It was an uncharacteristic night for the Thunder both in the number of turnovers it committed and the lack of turnovers (13) it forced.

— Joe Mussatto, Columnist

Containing Bennedict Mathurin: F

Bennedict Mathurin scored a gamehigh 27 points in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Let that sink in for a second.

Mathurin was dynamite off Indy’s bench, shooting 9 of 12. He was a plus-16 in his 22 minutes.

The Pacers’ bench outscored the Thunder’s bench 49-18!

— Joe Mussatto, Columnist

Isaiah Joe: B

Isaiah Joe buoyed the Thunder’s floundering offense in the second quarter. Amid an extended Pacers run, Joe buried back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game 39-39 and then 42-42.

Joe was a combined 1 of 3 from deep across 17 minutes in Games 1 and 2.

Wednesday was the first road playoff game in which Joe hit multiple 3-pointers since the first-round series against Memphis.

Joe didn’t play in the second half.

— Joe Mussatto, Columnist

Pacers’ gold out: A

It was a gold rush at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Pacers packed the place in gold “But this is Indiana” shirts — a nod to their “In 49 states it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana” mantra.

Fans accessorized their free T-shirts with light-up wristbands that flickered in gold and blue before tip-off and during timeouts.

— Joe Mussatto, Columnist

Thunder reserves: D

What a disaster of a night for the Thunder bench.

It combined to score only 18 points, while the Pacers’ reserves scored 49 points, and while the second-teamers’ job isn’t to try to outscore the other team, they are supposed to give the Thunder a lift. Wednesday, they were flat.

Alex Caruso wasn’t nearly the defensive pest that he normally is as the Pacers outscored the Thunder by 15 points while he was on the court. Aaron Wiggins, so good in Game 2, was scoreless, and Isaiah Hartenstein, who also had a big impact in Sunday’s win, only had four points and three rebounds.

—Jenni Carlson, Columnist

Pregame energy: D

Having heard about what a great home environment the Pacers have, I was hyped to experience Gainbridge Fieldhouse. But in the build-up before the game, the vibe was surprisingly uninspired.

Less than 20 minutes before tipoff, there were still lots of empty seats. The volume was low. The energy was subdued.

For the Pacers’ first home NBA Finals game in 25 years, I expected the roof to be ready to blow.

Not even close.

—Jenni Carlson, Columnist

End-game energy: A

Pacer fans absolutely brought it in the end.

When Obi Toppin rebounded a Tyrese Haliburton miss and threw down a powerful put-back dunk, Gainbridge Fieldhouse actually shook. The vibrations could be felt through the floor. So, yeah, that was impressive.

And as the Pacers continued getting stops and turnovers and baskets, the fans stayed loud.

Now, I could’ve done without Pat McAfee doing an in-game pep talk during a timeout — the less a guy who spews toxic masculinity is given a microphone, the better — but that wasn’t the fault of the Pacers’ fans. They were magnificent late.

—Jenni Carlson, Columnist

Thunder free-throw shooting: D

The Thunder got to the free-throw line 30 times, a number that is usually part of a winning formula, but it missed seven of those free shots.

That’s Oklahoma City’s most missed free throws since Game 3 against Denver, which ironically was also a disappointing loss. That one was in overtime, but the misses were a killer in not being able to steal that win on the road.

So it was Wednesday.

And as if the number of misses could get worse, four of them were in the fourth quarter, including three in the final minute of the game.

—Jenni Carlson, Columnist