Pacers lean on a balanced attack to roll past Thunder 108-91 and force a deciding Game 7 on Sunday.

INDIANAPOLIS — They were one step toward vacation when the night began, then one step toward salvation before it ended. Anyone who is surprised by where the Indiana Pacers stand right now obviously hasn’t watched this team migrate through the postseason minefield.

Rallying is what they do.

And so, as it turned out, the Pacers are indeed game — for Game 7 (Sun., 8 ET, ABC). They became defiant to the odds, the sentiment and the throbbing calf that bedeviled their star Tyrese Haliburton and mustered a mighty response Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Not only did they defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6, they did so resoundingly, and therefore invited suspense for Game 7. Yes, that decisive game will be on the road, versus a team that won 68 games this season, and against the reigning Kia MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Which means, the Pacers have a chance.

This much is certain: If Indiana bottles up the energy and effort and guile shown in its 108-91 rout and brings it on the trip, then prepare for a potential shocking ending to the 2025 NBA Finals.

In a Game 7, anything is possible. It’s the NBA equivalent to the NCAA Tournament — one and done. This is the scenario the Pacers created, and maybe the ending this series deserves.

“We’ve got one game,” said Haliburton. “One game. It’s nothing that’s happened before matters, and nothing that’s going to happen after matters.”

Here are five takeaways from the night where the Pacers cruised past the Thunder to force a Game 7:

1. Tyrese is good to go

Of course he would play. Whatever risk he took while ignoring the discomfort and any potential damage by playing with a calf strain was outweighed by the potential benefit.

“I think I’d beat myself up if I didn’t give it a chance,” he explained.

Haliburton dreamed of being in this position, with a chance to be a champion. And he gave that dream a chance. There were three positive signs from Game 6 for Haliburton and the Pacers:

• He was solid — 14 points and five assists with playmaking that typified his season.
• He had no issues, nothing that caused a limp, no reason to reach down and give that calf a massage, no dire medical attention afterward.
• Because this game was a wipeout — the Pacers were up 22 points at halftime — Haliburton wasn’t required to tax himself. He played just 23 minutes and was a spectator through much of the second half. Now he has two days of rest before Game 7.

“I just wanted to be out there with my brothers to compete,” he said. “That was important to me.”

And so was this …

2. The signature play

Tyrese Haliburton comes up with a steal and delivers a no-look pass to Pascal Siakam, who slams it home over Jalen Williams.

Blowout wins usually aren’t defined by a single play or sequence. Except in this case, what happened just before halftime proved crucial because it was triggered by Haliburton, revealed his health and mobility, and sent the Pacers into the locker room with a shot of confidence and swagger.

Jalen Williams, the OKC swingman who dropped 40 on Indiana a few nights earlier, looked to stop the Pacers’ surge. He threw a pass that was deflected, then stolen by Haliburton.

The ball and the momentum forced Haliburton toward the sideline. An injured player might allow the ball to continue sailing out of bounds, but Haliburton seized it and then walked the tightrope.

He sprinted downcourt for the fast break and then, in a moment of beauty, threw a no-look pass to a trailing Pascal Siakam, who delivered a facial dunk.

“I was just trying to bring the crowd into the game,” Siakam said. “The support that they have given us all year has just been so amazing. I’m super blessed to be a part of this, and when we are out there, we just want to do everything that we can for them just because they give us so much support.”

3. Pacers’ bench brings the energy

Are the stars deciding who wins these games? To an extent, yes. But a common trend continued Thursday when the reserves came to the rescue for the winner.

Instead of Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace, this one belonged to T.J. McConnell, Obi Toppin and Ben Sheppard. And much like the game itself, that contest wasn’t really close.

McConnell, as he has all series, caused issues for OKC with his ability to cause turnovers, drive the lane for mid-range jumpers and give the Pacers a boost. In Game 6, his third quarter helped Indiana crawl back into the contest, but coach Rick Carlisle, saying McConnell was fatigued, inexplicably left him benched through much of the fourth quarter, when it all fell apart for Indy.

After T.J. McConnell drops 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists & 4 steals in Game 6, he joins GameTime to discuss the Pacers’ win.

Not so this time. McConnell’s performance demanded he stay in the game. And this was his best of the series: 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals.

“I think we played to exhaustion,” he said.

Toppin led the Pacers with 20 points, with four 3-pointers, punishing OKC when the ball swung in his direction and he was left open. As for Sheppard, he dropped a 3-pointer that beat the third-quarter buzzer, a shot that became the silencer; Indy had a 30-point lead. Then it was time for another set of reserves — the third string.

“We were going home if we didn’t come out and give everything we have and leave it all out on the floor,” McConnell said. “We have another opportunity to do that on Sunday.”

4. OKC lacked a killer instinct

There’s no tougher task in the NBA Finals than trying to close out a team on its home court. Therefore, the Thunder had a chore. But it didn’t take long to understand the obvious — they weren’t the more desperate team.

“No team’s just going to roll over and go home,” said OKC forward Chet Holmgren. “It’s going to be really physical. There’s not going to be any favors from the officiating. You have to make it happen. It’s not going to happen by accident. We have to learn the lesson from tonight and come back and be better.”

They were beaten to loose balls, rebounds, all the hustle plays. They couldn’t match Indy’s urgency. And bluntly, this was OKC’s worst performance of the series, a night when nothing sparkled, when they committed 21 turnovers — eight by Shai, who was unusually mistake-prone — missed 10 of their first 11 shots from deep and only once had the lead.

“A very poor performance by us,” said OKC coach Mark Daigneault.

Shai had his lowest point total, 21, in addition to the errors. Williams went from 40 to 16. Those statistics reflected not only the blowout, but also the manner in which neither star could make a difference.

OKC can’t afford a repeat of mistakes, not from the team and certainly not from Shai, come Sunday.

“I don’t feel like I have to do anything other than just be the best version of myself,” he said. “I think that goes for everyone else in the room. We just have to bring what we bring to the table, what we’ve brought to the table all year, bring our best.”

5. Game 4, in hindsight

There will be a time for what-if’s and that time will be once the series ends and a champion is crowned. But where would this series be if the Pacers managed to hold a lead and close out Game 4? Well, they’d be champions right now, actually.

Indy had a chance to go up 3-1 for a commanding series lead. They were up four points with just over three minutes remaining — not insurmountable, but still. And even after Shai went wild — he scored 15 points in the final 4:38 — the Pacers trailed by just one with two minutes left.

Again, the Pacers had the secret sauce in these sticky situations all postseason. Their ability to be unshakable, apply defense and rely and Haliburton showed up against the Bucks, Cavaliers and Knicks previously and became signature wins.

But Shai and Indy’s mistakes in that Game 4 were too much to overcome. The Thunder dodged a setback, the series was tied 2-2, and here we are.

“As a basketball fan, there’s nothing like a Game 7 in the NBA Finals,” Haliburton said. “So to be here is really exciting. Really exciting for our group. Like I said, what happened in the past doesn’t matter. What happened today doesn’t matter. It’s all about one game and approaching that the right way.”

* * *

Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.