Heading into Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals, the series was tied 1-1 between the Thunder and Pacers. Indiana stole Game 1 on the road, and OKC responded with a 123-107 win in Game 2.
OKC was 0-7 covering the spread on the road ahead of Game 3 on Wednesday night. The Pacers played extremely tough in Game 3 and walked away with a 116-107 win. Indiana has a 2-1 series lead in the 2025 NBA Finals. Despite that, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the betting favorites to win it all.
Will the Indiana Pacers pull off a major upset and win the 2025 NBA Finals?
After a massive Game 3 win, the Pacers lead 2-1… historically, teams win the series 80% of the time.
But their odds on @PolymarketSport? Just 34%.
Is the market sleeping on the Pacers?
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 12, 2025
The Indiana Pacers will not quit in the 2025 postseason. Several times, the team has been down late by double-digit points and fought to get a win. On paper, the Oklahoma City Thunder has more star power than the Pacers. However, Indiana has more depth than OKC, and that’s proven true in this series. A massive difference between the Thuner and Pacers in Game 3 was their play off the bench.
In Game 3, OKC only had 18 bench points compared to the Pacers’ 49. That was a drastic difference on Wednesday evening. Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench to score a team-high 27 points in Game 3. He was 2-3 from beyond the arc and 7-8 from the free throw line. Additionally, all-star PG Tyrese Haliburton had a near triple-double with 22 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists.
Despite having a 2-1 lead in this series, the Pacers are still the underdogs to win it all. Historically, when a team has a 2-1 lead in the Finals, they win 80% of the time. Odds from Polymarke Sports only give the Pacers a 34% chance to win the 2025 NBA Finals. Game 4 is Friday, June 13, at 8:30 p.m. EST. Will the Pacers take a 3-1 series lead, or will the Thunder respond and tie it 2-2?
