NBA Finals Game 6: Pacers Dominate Thunder to Force Decisive Game 7

Peter Klein

The Indiana Pacers staged a defensive masterclass to crush the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6, extending the 2025 NBA Finals to a winner-take-all Game 7. This recap highlights: The Pacers’ defensive adjustments that shut down OKC Haliburton’s gradual improvement after early struggles Why SGA and the Thunder offense looked out of sync Key performances that swung the game  #NBA #Pacers #Thunder #NBAFinals

Transcript

00:00The Indiana Pacers have forced Game 7 of the NBA Finals with an absolutely dominant victory

00:19over the Oklahoma City Thunder. I don't remember what the final score ended up being,

00:24but it is probably not indicative of how much of an ass-kicking this game really was.

00:30The Pacers, it didn't start out this way, but the Pacers controlled this entire game,

00:36and it just, it felt like everything was really difficult for OKC to get.

00:41Offensively, they were really struggling. They couldn't hit any shots,

00:45nothing was coming easy when they were trying to get into the paint.

00:48They were hitting some tough shots early, but that really wears on you when you are on the road.

00:53And, uh, in dealing with a crowd that was insane in the way that Indiana crowd was.

00:59And for the Pacers offensively, they got everything they wanted.

01:02That there was, everything was falling for this team.

01:06That they were very, very comfortable out there just making shot after shot after shot after shot.

01:12That they were, they were feeling good, um, about what was happening out on that floor for them tonight.

01:19So, like, you could, you could really see the different levels of comfort that we were dealing with

01:24with these two teams out on that floor tonight in Game 6.

01:30Um, and like I said, it didn't start that way.

01:33It looked like this was going to be a difficult matchup for the Indiana Pacers.

01:39They couldn't hit from distance to start.

01:41They, they start over on the night.

01:43Um, they absolutely couldn't stop anything.

01:46Defensively, it looked a little rough.

01:48And then, uh, Rick Carlisle with the very well timed out, uh, timed timeout as, uh, Crash Andrews,

01:55uh, entering the chat.

01:56Always a favorite.

01:56Uh, shout out to Crash for hanging out here on a Thursday night.

02:01Um, it was a well timed out, uh, time, timed out, sorry, by Rick Carlisle.

02:05So, um, it just, it settled everything down, they made a couple of shots, and then they

02:10were relentless from there.

02:12And that was another aspect of this game.

02:14I, I don't know if it was the biggest reason.

02:16You, you hate to just sum every game up as, oh, well, these guys made, these guys missed.

02:21Basketball.

02:22What are you gonna do?

02:23Right?

02:23You don't want to sum it up in just that way.

02:25But the Pacers were on fire from three.

02:30And the Thunder weren't.

02:32The Thunder really did struggle as the game went on, shooting from distance, as to start

02:37the third quarter, shooting at all.

02:40But the, the threes were falling for Indiana.

02:43And like I said, just everything was coming easy to them.

02:45And they were creating that, too.

02:47That it wasn't just, oh, wow, look at this.

02:49Something fell into our lap.

02:51Not the case.

02:52That this was a, a defense that got them back into this game.

02:55It was so hard for Oklahoma City to get to the rim.

02:58And they are a team that kind of needs to do that, right?

03:00Like, they don't have the insane three-point shooting that some other teams have.

03:05They are a team that needs to attack.

03:06They can hit from mid-range.

03:08But they love getting to the rim.

03:09Williams loves attacking and getting into the paint.

03:12Chet Holbengrin, same thing.

03:13They, they need to get into that area.

03:16And the Pacers just clogged it all up.

03:18Just daring them to beat them from distance.

03:21And so that's something that's going to have to change.

03:23And you would presume it would, going onto a home floor out in Oklahoma City.

03:28But they were daring them to make these shots.

03:32They really clogged up the paint and just did not allow anything easy at the rim.

03:36And it forced a lot of misses.

03:37And RJ brought it up on the ESPN broadcast tonight.

03:42Where it was a lot of long misses that turn into fast breaks.

03:44Like, they're basically turnovers.

03:45Because they come from so far away.

03:47And what is one of the first things you're taught when you're rebounding.

03:51It's a long shot equals long rebound.

03:53And that's what we had in this game.

03:54It was boing all the way back.

03:56And hey, look at that.

03:56It's a three on two.

03:57Already back the other way.

03:59And now it's in our net.

04:00And it wasn't just one or two guys.

04:03Like, Nembhard was spectacular defensively in this game.

04:05Siakam was really, really good on both ends of the floor.

04:08But it was everyone.

04:09It was McConnell with a couple really good reads and some steals creating havoc.

04:13It was Turner who was helping to prevent guys from getting into the lane.

04:17And altering shots.

04:18It was everyone on down the line.

04:20Halliburton with a couple of good reads.

04:22And a couple of good steals.

04:23He gets the steal that leads to probably the most emphatic moment of this game.

04:27And that is Siakam's poster at the end of the second quarter.

04:33Which is when this game was done.

04:35Like, that really felt like it.

04:36Doris said with two minutes left.

04:38She was like, it would be huge if OKC could get this down to 10.

04:42And at that point it was 14.

04:44Instead it got up to 20.

04:46Because they just, they couldn't do anything.

04:48And it was Indiana smothering defense again.

04:51And it's a turnover.

04:53And then Halliburton with the pass and he does the quick spin away.

04:56And Siakam with the posterizing moment.

04:59Or the meme or the TikTok or whatever the current vocab would be for a poster.

05:05It was Siakam getting one.

05:07And absolutely throwing it down to give the Pacers some momentum.

05:13And that was, that was it.

05:15From there on in, that was it.

05:18They just completely controlled this basketball game.

05:21And it was done from there.

05:24McConnell was another big piece of this.

05:26He was the guy who was making the impact.

05:28The spark at both ends of the floor.

05:30Just so smart in reading the play.

05:33Seeing what he can get.

05:34Seeing what he can't.

05:35Knowing when to back out.

05:36Knowing when to attack.

05:37Defensively he was everywhere.

05:39He was everything everywhere all at once.

05:41Right?

05:41Like he was just, he was pestering when he was on the ball.

05:45When he was off the ball.

05:46He was always lurking.

05:48And always ready to come in and get a steal.

05:52If SGA was stuck backing someone down.

05:54Or the clamps were really put on him.

05:57They, they forced Indiana into a lot of one-on-one matchups.

06:02And defensively they were good enough to stay in front of them one-on-one.

06:05And so it just, it bogged the defense down.

06:08Sorry, bogged the offense down.

06:10Because they just, they couldn't really maneuver in any way.

06:13And they're trying to get in.

06:15And trying to get in.

06:16And then a help side defender comes in.

06:18Boop.

06:18Steal.

06:19And off they go.

06:20They did a fantastic job all night.

06:22Of just dictating how every moment of this basketball game was going to be played.

06:28And the most important thing.

06:30We talked about it in the brief preview that we did.

06:33Which, you know what?

06:34Don't bother going back and watching that one.

06:36Because not a lot of it's going to hold up all that well.

06:39But you look at how concerned everyone was about Halliburton's calf coming into this game.

06:48To the point where I was like, I don't know why they played him in the second half of game five.

06:51Because you're risking him blowing out an Achilles here in game number six.

06:56It, again, it didn't start out looking good.

06:59He looked uncomfortable.

07:00There was a play early in the first quarter.

07:02He gets Hartenstein on him in a, just kind of an iso there.

07:07And normally you would think with him, like, okay, he can cook.

07:11And they were saying, like, oh, he's just trying to get to his mid-range game.

07:13It's like, I know what it looks like when Halliburton's trying to get to his mid-range game.

07:18That was him trying to get to his mid-range game without his leg exploding.

07:21It was very hesitant.

07:23It was like, oh, should I?

07:23No, I'm not going to.

07:24But not in a hesitation way.

07:26In a type of a way.

07:30And so, Hesi, and I'll come back.

07:31Okay, well, I'll kind of end the shot.

07:33It just looked off.

07:34But as the game went on, he looked better.

07:37Which was not how I anticipated that going when you're dealing with a calf injury.

07:41So, that was a gigantic boost for him.

07:46And the good thing was, is that they allowed him to ease into the game.

07:50Despite the 8-2 run to start, they go on an 8-0 run themselves to take the lead back.

07:55And it's Nembhardt hitting a big shot.

07:56It's Siakam creating and getting to the rim.

07:58It's Turner coming up with a couple of big moments in this game early on.

08:03That allowed Halliburton to ease into the game.

08:05To ease into the flow.

08:06Figure out what he could do.

08:08Figure out what he couldn't do.

08:08And how best he could contribute in this way.

08:12It was excellent.

08:13It was just absolute excellence.

08:15But again, back to one of the original points.

08:18McConnell, again, putting out some fantastic minutes.

08:22And allowing them to rest Halliburton more and more and more.

08:26So, now we go to a Game 7.

08:28It still feels like it is advantage.

08:31OKC.

08:32Like, that home court there is just, like, very few things in sport.

08:39And so, I do still think that that is Oklahoma City's to lose, basically.

08:46Right?

08:46Like, that feels like this is the, still the Thunder series at this point.

08:53But, that was an ass-kicking tonight.

08:57And I understand that a lot of times, like, OKC, well, the role players are going to play

09:01better at home.

09:02And that's, that's, that's where they're going to get theirs.

09:05Is when that happens, and all of a sudden the shots that weren't falling in Game 6 do

09:11fall in Game 7.

09:12And, hey, look at that.

09:13We have a lovely trophy here at the end of the night.

09:17But I, I am just, I, I think it would be a little over-simplistic to try to, to roll

09:22with that.

09:23I'm trying to look at the odds right now.

09:25Uh, the Thunder are, sorry, it's late.

09:28Uh, the Thunder are eight and a half point favorites going into Game 7.

09:32So, there's, there's not an overly strong belief that the Pacers can do this again.

09:40And, that seems a little unfair to them.

09:43Because, like, the, the, the shooting part, it's probably not going to stay that hot.

09:48Right?

09:48Like, that's, that's probably not going to be a sustainable way that this team can win.

09:54Is to be that absurdly hot from distance.

09:59But the defense could be.

10:01Right?

10:01Like, defense should be.

10:04So, I, I, I think that this will be a, a very, very close seventh game.

10:12Ultimately, I do think OKC gets it done.

10:15They did look young, again, in this game.

10:18And they did look spooked in this game.

10:20There were some moments at home where that looked the same as well.

10:22But I think being back at home for that game is so massive for the Thunder to be in that spot.

10:30And have those comforts for them.

10:32The shots will fall a little bit easier at home.

10:36And that momentum won't be able to build as much for the Pacers at home.

10:40Now, these are all things we said before.

10:41And then the Pacers stole game one.

10:43Right?

10:43And so, who knows.

10:45But I, I, I just, I still think this is Oklahoma City in seven.

10:50But the fact that we are here is a gigantic win for the Pacers.

10:53And look, they're not, they're not going to hang a banner for, took the number one team in the NBA to a game seven.

10:59Um, if they don't get this one done.

11:02But, I, I vividly remember being on the radio out here in Calgary.

11:06And we're talking about the series and someone said,

11:08I'm, I'm thinking Thunder in five, but I'm a little worried about that.

11:11It's like, the only thing you have to worry about with Thunder in five is if it's Thunder in four.

11:15Because it's not going six.

11:17And it's not.

11:18It's going seven.

11:19So, a huge congratulations to the Pacers for doing that.

11:23And continuously proving that they are for real.

11:27Oh, we got Toxic in the chat.

11:28Uh, yes, a late night.

11:30Um, it's, it's PK after dark, if you will.

11:33Um, but yeah, after the, the NBA game, I've been on the radio a bunch.

11:37So, uh, kept getting caught up on some podcasting here as well.

11:40Uh, so we're going to get into that in the next couple of minutes here.

11:43But, uh, yeah, you know, doing, doing the late night thing.

11:45Out on, um, on Twitch, Kick, and over on, uh, YouTube.com, uh, slash at Couch Potato Diary.

11:51We'll get rid of that someday.

11:52But, uh, for now, that is, uh, that's where we're at.

11:55But, yeah, um, keep the chats coming.

11:57Uh, like I said, Crash in the chat.

11:59We got Toxic, um, now as well.

12:01Um, the returning favorite, uh, who is, uh, I'm sure crushing it at the new gig that, uh, that he has right now.

12:07So, um, yes, thank you to all who are tuning in tonight.

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