Balanced OKC Thunder Storm to Bounce-Back Game 2 Finals Victory over Pacers

The Oklahoma City Thunder evened the 2025 NBA Finals with a 123-107 Game 2 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.

Five Thunder players scored 15 or more points, the first Finals team to do so since the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors starters each reached 17 points in a Game 3 road win against the Golden State Warriors.

Oklahoma City accumulated more bench points (48-34) and paint points (42-34) than Indiana. It improved to 17-2 this season following a loss — and 5-0 in the playoffs.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points on 11-for-21 shooting and 11-for-12 free throws, eight assists, five rebounds, four steals and a block.

Jalen Williams registered 19 points on 5-for-14 shooting and 8-for-9 free throws, five rebounds, five assists and a steal. Chet Holmgren recorded 15 points on 11 shots, six rebounds, a block and an assist.

Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins combined for 38 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including nine made 3-pointers, seven rebounds (two offensive), two assists and a steal off the bench.

Six Pacers scored double-digits for the second consecutive game.

The Thunder started Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Luguentz Dort, Williams and Holmgren.

The Pacers started Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner.

Wallace banked in a left-handed layup over Haliburton to start the game. The Indiana point guard responded with a perimeter assist to Siakam, who gave his team an early lead after trailing for nearly all of Game 1. All seven Pacers first-quarter field goals were jump shots, including five 3-pointers. Haliburton swished a three for Indiana's final points at the 2:43 mark.

Oklahoma City committed three turnovers in the first five minutes but settled in shortly afterward. Gilgeous-Alexander nailed a mid-range jumper and catch-and-shoot corner triple on his first two shot attempts. The Thunder found success with its double-big lineup, scoring nine straight points after Turner checked out.

Holmgren knocked down two long jumpers from Gilgeous-Alexander and put in a layup with 13 seconds left, as Oklahoma City led 26-20 after the opening frame. He scored more first-quarter points (nine) than in all of Game 1 (six).

The Thunder's bench unit scored on three straight possessions to start the second quarter. Caruso tallied a goaltended transition layup for the first double-digit lead of the night. Turner and Bennedict Mathurin then scored Indiana's first paint baskets on consecutive possessions, taking advantage of a live-ball Isaiah Hartenstein turnover.

Oklahoma City, however, exploded for a 19-2 run between 9:37 and 4:20. Wiggins stepped back into two 3-pointers and Gilgeous-Alexander registered three 2-pointers during that stretch. Indiana missed six shots and committed four turnovers before Nembhard intercepted a Gilgeous-Alexander perimeter pass for a reverse layup.

The Pacers scored on four straight trips, including back-to-back Siakam driving layups, to cut their deficit to 13. The Thunder responded with five straight points and led 59-41 at halftime.

The third quarter devolved into a foul contest, as each team made more free throws than field goals. Indiana entered the bonus within two minutes, with Oklahoma City doing so after eight. Turner racked up eight quick points, while the Thunder's first four second-half field goals came from different players.

The Pacers did not get the scoring margin closer than 14 in the frame, which Nesmith provided with a zone-busting 3-pointer at 7:38. The Thunder maintained a 93-74 advantage with a quarter to play.

Indiana shot 13-for-20 and outscored Oklahoma City 33-30 in the fourth quarter.

Game 3 between the Thunder and Pacers begins in Gainbridge Fieldhouse this Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. CST.