Pacers vs OKC: 2025 NBA Finals Scores, Recap & Highlights

The Indiana Pacers pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to the absolute limit in the 2025 NBA Finals—forcing a decisive Game 7 on their home court. It marked the first Game 7 in Pacers franchise history, a grinding, wire-to-wire battle that went down to the final minutes before the Thunder seized the crown. By the end of the night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had claimed Finals MVP honors and Oklahoma City had its first championship in franchise history, triumphing 103-91 on June 22, 2025 at Paycom Center.

League Champion: Oklahoma City Thunder ·
Finals MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30.3 / 4.6 / 5.6) ·
Playoff PTS Leader: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (688) ·
Series Length: 7 games ·
Game 7 Date: Jun 22, 2025

Where will game 7 of the NBA Finals be played?

Game 7 location and time

Game 7 tipped off on June 22, 2025, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, with the venue operating at its full 18,203-seat capacity for the first NBA Finals Game 7 hosted in the state since the franchise relocated from Seattle. The contest began at 7 p.m. ET and aired nationally on ABC, drawing a peak viewership audience that reflected the stakes of a winner-take-all championship showdown.

Attendance and atmosphere

The crowd of 18,203 inside Paycom Center created what multiple courtside reports described as an electric environment, with Oklahoma City’s home crowd providing a sustained decibel level that visibly disrupted Pacers’ offensive sets during the fourth quarter. This marked the first time the Thunder organization—historically connected to the Seattle SuperSonics franchise that lost a home Game 7 in the 1978 NBA Finals to the Washington Bullets—would host a championship-deciding contest of its own.

Has the Pacers or OKC won a championship?

Pacers championship record

The Indiana Pacers had never appeared in an NBA Finals Game 7 before June 22, 2025. The franchise’s previous championship-history peak came in 2000, when Indiana pushed the Los Angeles Lakers to six games in a series that remains one of the most-watched Finals of the modern era. Prior to this season, the Pacers carried zero NBA titles—a drought now standing at 49 seasons since the team’s ABA origins. Their Game 7 appearance alone represents a milestone: the first Game 7 in Pacers franchise history.

OKC Thunder championships

The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the 2025 Finals as a franchise seeking redemption. The organization’s predecessor, the Seattle SuperSonics, lost the only prior Game 7 they ever contested—an away defeat to the Washington Bullets in 1978. The Thunder’s 2025 championship is the first in Oklahoma City’s 17-year tenure and marks the second title in the franchise’s combined history, dating back to the SuperSonics era. Oklahoma City also finished the regular season with a league-best 68-14 record, earning home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Did Haliburton get hurt in Game 7?

Injury play breakdown

Tyrese Haliburton, who delivered the iconic Game 1 game-winner with 0.3 seconds remaining in a 111-110 Pacers victory, was involved in a collision during Game 7 that forced him to leave the court. Video review and post-game footage showed Haliburton going to the ground after contact near midcourt, with trainers attending to him before he walked off under his own power. The Pacers later confirmed the incident but did not release a formal injury update before the season concluded.

Impact on series

The timing of Haliburton’s injury came at a particularly difficult juncture, with the Pacers clinging to a one-point lead at halftime before the Thunder mounted their decisive third-quarter surge. With Haliburton limited, Indiana’s backcourt rotation fell heavier on Bennedict Mathurin, who responded with 24 points on 6-of-14 shooting, and Myles Turner, who battled foul trouble throughout the second half.

Pacers vs OKC Game 7

Final score

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. The boxscore from FOX Sports confirmed the final tally, with Oklahoma City outscoring Indiana 28-16 in the third quarter to seize control after a 48-47 halftime deficit. The Thunder’s shooting efficiency (35-of-87, 40.2% from the field) edged out the Pacers’ mark (29-of-70, 41.4%) in a game decided more by volume and timing than shooting percentage.

Key highlights

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted 29 points, 4 rebounds, and 12 assists in the championship clincher, earning Finals MVP honors after leading all players in scoring across the seven-game set. Jalen Williams contributed 20 points and 4 rebounds, providing the secondary scoring punch the Thunder needed to sustain offensive output when the Pacers made runs. On the Indiana side, Bennedict Mathurin’s 24-point performance off the bench represented the Pacers’ most productive individual showing in the elimination game, though it proved insufficient against Oklahoma City’s balanced attack.

Pacers vs OKC Finals series overview

Game scores

The seven-game series featured dramatic momentum swings, with neither team winning back-to-back games until the Thunder closed with victories in Games 4, 5, and 7. The Pacers won Games 1, 3, and 6, with their Game 6 victory (108-91) representing the most lopsided result of the series and forcing the decisive Game 7. Game 1 remains the most memorable contest: a 111-110 Indiana victory sealed by Haliburton’s buzzer-beater with 0.3 seconds left.

Series standings

The final series standings reflect the Thunder’s sustained excellence across the 2024-25 season: a 68-14 regular season record that earned the top seed in the Western Conference, combined with a playoff run that required them to survive a gritty seven-game Western Conference Finals before outlasting the Pacers. Indiana, meanwhile, finished 50-32 in the regular season—fourth in the Eastern Conference—and entered the Finals as the lower seed despite proving far more competitive than oddsmakers projected.

Thunder vs Pacers: How the stats compared

Three statistical contrasts define this series: Oklahoma City’s defensive identity versus Indiana’s shot-making upside, the home team’s third-quarter adjustments, and the bench production differential that tilted games when starters rested.

Confirmed facts vs. rumors

What they said

A storm has arrived. The Oklahoma City Thunder is the class of basketball.

— Time Magazine, Time Magazine

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 29 points and Thunder beat Pacers 103-91 for NBA title.

— ESPN, ESPN

The Oklahoma City Thunder win the 2025 NBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV, 4-3, and are your 2024-25 NBA Champions.

— NBA Broadcast, YouTube

Summary

The 2025 NBA Finals delivered the dramatic seven-game series that the NBA calendar rarely permits, with the Oklahoma City Thunder holding firm against a Pacers squad that refused to fold despite consistent underdog status. The Thunder’s championship—their first in Oklahoma City and second in franchise history—validates a 68-14 regular season built on defensive versatility and offensive star power from Gilgeous-Alexander, who closed the postseason with 688 total points and the Finals MVP trophy. For the Pacers, the runner-up finish marks the franchise’s deepest playoff run in a quarter-century and a foundation to build around, assuming Haliburton’s health clears in the offseason.

Related reading: Socceroos vs Japan: 1-0 Win, Highlights & WC 2026 Path

The gripping seven-game series that ended with OKC’s 103-91 triumph in Game 7 unfolds further in this detailed Finals timeline, highlighting pivotal moments from start to finish.

Frequently asked questions