Stephen A. Smith Predicts Winner of Pacers-Thunder Game 7

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Audilet | Last updated Jun 22, 2025 9:09 PM ET

The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder will take the court for Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.

After going down 2-3, Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers forced a Game 7 with a dominant 108-91 Game 6 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Now, it all comes down to one more, winner-take-all matchup at Oklahoma City's Paycom Center.

The No. 1 seed Thunder are favored by seven points over the visiting No. 4 seed Pacers.

Before tipoff on Sunday night, Stephen A. Smith and the ESPN "NBA Countdown" crew gave their predictions for the Game 7 clash. Every analyst — including Smith — picked Oklahoma City to take home the league title.

Smith predicts a closely-contested game that's decided in the fourth quarter. But ultimately, he feels Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his squad will get the job done.

Stephen A— Thunder
Malika Andrews— Thunder
Bob Myers— Thunder
Kendrick Perkins— Thunder pic.twitter.com/RURLczYmC2
— HaliMuse (@hali_muse) June 22, 2025

Smith echoed this prediction during an episode of "First Take" earlier this week.

"It's going to come down to the ball in SGA's hands... I think it's going to be close in the fourth quarter," Smith said. "... I still believe in [Oklahoma City], but midway through the fourth quarter, I think we're going to be within five points of one another. It's going to come down to the wire."

"I think Game 7 is going to be a thriller. I don't think it's going to be a blowout. I think it's going to be tight."@stephenasmith feels it will go down to the wire in Game 7 of the NBA Finals pic.twitter.com/RyAvKav0Hm
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 20, 2025