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With a win at home tonight, the Pacers would take an imposing 3-1 lead over Oklahoma City, putting themselves one game away from their first Larry O’Brien in franchise history.

For the Thunder, a win makes this a 2-2 series with a Game 5 rubber match at OKC’s Paycom Center up next.

How could you not Enjoy Basketball?

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Hunter Tyson, Chris Duarte, and Hassan Whiteside! 🎉

Game 3 Recap

Pacers shut down Thunder in 116-107 G3 win, take 2-1 lead in Finals

No gimmicks. No buzzer-beaters. This was a win that the Pacers straight-up earned with their deep roster and an emphasis on size late in the game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24 PTS) and the Thunder got out to a hot start in Indianapolis’ first Finals game in 25 years, with Chet Holmgren (20 PTS, 13 in 1Q) starting the game aggressively and Lu Dort (12 PTS, 4-5 3PT) helping out on the perimeter. Indiana was largely unable to respond in the first half, and despite taking the lead midway through the second quarter, their woes continued after the break.

But after another slow Indiana start in the second half, Bennedict Mathurin (27 PTS) dueled it out with Jalen Williams (26 PTS) and the Pacers fought back against OKC in the middle of the third. And after Mathurin hit a three with eight minutes left in the game to give the Pacers a 98-96 lead, a series of clutch blocks and overall resilience down low from Myles Turner (9 PTS, 5 BLK) and Obi Toppin (8 PTS, 2 BLK) sealed the game for Indiana.

It was obviously a huge win for the underdog Pacers, who are now just two wins away from completing one of the most unexpected postseason runs in recent NBA history with two of their next three potential games at home. But the MVP might have something to say about that, and we can't wait to see during Game 4 tonight. 😆

Around the NBA

Knicks’ coaching search runs dry as permission to speak with top coaches around the league denied

The Knicks are looking for the best of the best to replace Tom Thibodeau, but they haven’t had any luck getting a big name to the Big Apple yet—or even getting a candidate to the table.

According to Shams, the Knicks have requested interviews with four current NBA head coaches—Minnesota’s Chris Finch, Houston’s Ime Udoka, Dallas’ Jason Kidd, and Atlanta’s Quin Snyder—and have had all four requests refused by their respective franchises. NBA insider Marc Stein and Bulls beat reporter K.C. Johnson added Chicago’s Billy Donovan as another candidate to which New York had been denied access.

New York is one of the best basketball cities in the world, and we’re excited to see who the Knicks hire next—as long as they find someone.

Garland (CLE), Edey (MEM), Brown (BOS) all undergoing offseason surgery

A trio of NBA difference-makers announced their plans for offseason surgery this week, adding intrigue to an offseason where the top squads in the East could be due for a reshuffle.

Jaylen Brown had surgery on his right knee and is expected to be ready for training camp, but both Darius Garland (toe) and Zach Edey (left ankle) are likely to miss the start of the 2025-26 season.

For Boston and Cleveland, injuries to their respective stars are just the latest complicating factors as both the Celtics and Cavs consider a retool. For Memphis, it’s an unfortunate asterisk to the upcoming start of an otherwise promising year after an injury last year clouded the unexpected greatness of 2024-25 All-Rookie First Team forward Jaylen Wells.

Game 4 Preview

Buckle up: the Finals are just getting started. Whether it’s the Thunder evening things once again or the Pacers taking one more step towards history, we’re in for a treat tonight. 🍿

To win, the Thunder will need to… make defensive adjustments to avoid mismatches and give themselves more transition opportunities.

Switching everything has led to poor matchups for the Thunder’s smaller guards and wings against Bennedict Mathurin and Pascal Siakam. Communicating better on screens and having defensive anchors like Lu Dort on the floor with bench units will help the Thunder generate more easy points by forcing turnovers and running in transition.

If OKC’s supporting cast can control the Pacers’ pace, stay disciplined on defense, and prop up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams to thrive in their trademark high-energy scenarios, the Thunder can shift the momentum of this series.

To win, the Pacers will need to… continue to out-Thunder the Thunder by feeding off of their bench’s energy and dominating on the glass and in the paint.

Indiana won Game 3 and has found success this postseason by outworking opponents on the glass and swinging games with strong bench performances. Mathurin emerged as a spark plug in G3, and the Pacers should continue to feed him and other contributors like Aaron Nesmith early—if Indy’s scoring isn’t gonna be all Tyrese Haliburton, it doesn’t have to be!

Siakam setting the law down low and Haliburton focusing on playmaking have been steadying forces for Indiana so far. If the Pacers keep winning the bench and hustle moments, they’ll be in strong position to take a 3-1 lead as long as they trust their system and protect the ball.

Three in the Key

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Signing Off

We’re giddy with excitement about tonight’s Game 4—so much so, in fact, that we wouldn’t be surprised if you could feel it through the screen.

You can? Fantastic.

Austin Zeglis