This year’s Finals have been nothing short of electric. In Game 1, with everything on the line, Tyrese Haliburton hit a dagger to seal the win for the Pacers—right in OKC’s house. Then in Game 2, SGA and the Thunder responded with a dominant 16-point win. After that, a lot of people figured the Thunder would ride that momentum into Game 3 and take control of the series. Statistically, the Game 3 winner usually goes on to win the whole thing. But this series had other plans.
The Pacers came back strong in Game 3 with a huge 9-point win to keep their championship hopes alive. Game 4? That one belonged to the Thunder. SGA couldn’t be stopped—he dropped 35 points and carried OKC to a 7-point win to tie the series 2-2.
After all the sacrifices the Pacers made to get here, no one could’ve predicted the one Pascal Siakam was about to make. Following a tough Game 5 loss, the team announced that Tyrese Haliburton had suffered a strained right calf and would be sitting out Game 6. The news caused a stir—Drake even bet $800,000 on the Thunder to win. And if you've followed the NBA for a while, you know one thing: when Drake bets on a team, it's pretty much an instant curse.
Then came the best possible outcome: TJ McConnell happened.
He finished with 12 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds, but the box score doesn’t even begin to tell the story. TJ and the rest of the Pacers played with everything they had and pulled off the win to tie the series 3-3.
Now, this Sunday—June 22—we get the highly anticipated Game 7. And if you didn’t know, this will be the first Game 7 in the Finals since 2016… and we all remember what happened that year.
Predicting a winner feels impossible—most games in this series have been neck-and-neck. The popular pick might be the Pacers, especially after bulldozing through the East. But let’s not forget: SGA is the MVP, and more nights than not, he’s dropping a 30-piece… and handing out an L.
Landon Neilson,
2025.
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