INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Pacers beat the Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, 116-107.
The Pacers now hold a 2-1 lead in the series.
“This is the kind of team that we are,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “We need everybody to be ready. It’s not always going to be exactly the same guys that are stepping up with scoring and stuff like that. But this is how we got to do it, and we got to do it as a team. And we’ve got to make it as hard as possible on them.”
“Our second unit did a great job of giving us energy to start that second quarter, and we just rode the wave from there,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “Definitely got to get better starts. The first three minutes and last three minutes of every quarter are so important especially in a time like this. We weren’t good to start the third quarter either. So watch the film and see where we can get better and continue to improve.”
“I think you just have to get in the game with the right mindset and give it all you’ve got to win the game,” Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin said.
“Never be too high. Never be too low,” Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith said. “Still made mistakes today. Still going to learn from them. We’ll be better on Friday and we’re going to out and try and win that game too.”
“To do it here for this amazing organization is obviously great,” Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said. “You can see how energetic the fans were. It was cool to get that first Finals under our belt, but like I said, we got to move on and get ready for the next game.”
Mathurin led the Pacers with 27 points off the bench. Haliburton added 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.
The Pacers outscored the Thunder 32-18 in the fourth quarter.
Game 4 is scheduled for Friday at 8:30 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
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