Will the Pacers do the impossible and win it all or will the Thunder right the ship?
Game. SEVEN. The Indiana Pacers forced Oklahoma City into a Game 7 at home. Who do you think comes out on top? The For The Hoops crew make their picks here.
It’s all come down to this. The two best words in sports: Game 7.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers have provided the league and fans with an excellent series, and the final game of the NBA season has a chance to set legacies and to haunt players who don’t perform. The 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history takes place Sunday at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
It’s the first Finals Game 7 in nine years, when the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 deficit to stun the Golden State Warriors.
NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the young Thunder team during the Finals, averaging 30.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and two steals in nearly 38 minutes a game. His sidekick, Jalen Williams, is chipping in more than 24 points per Finals contest.
Indiana, seeking its first championship since 1973 when it was in the ABA, is being paced by Pascal Siakam (19.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Tyrese Haliburton (14.8 ppg, 6.8 apg, 5.3 rpg).
Balanced scoring has also been the key, as 12 different players are averaging more than 10 points a game during the Finals.
It all adds up to a winner-take-all Game 7. USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest updates, highlights, wild plays, analysis and more throughout the game. Follow along.
Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress and Oklahoma native Kristin Chenoweth (aka Glinda from the musical “Wicked”) gave a rousing rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the start of Game 7.
What time is Pacers vs Thunder game today?
The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local) at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
How to watch Pacers vs Thunder in NBA Finals Game 7Time: 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT)Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City)TV: ABCStream: Fubo, Sling TV
Watch the NBA Finals with Fubo
Where is Game 7 between the Pacers and Thunder?
The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Indiana Pacers in a decisive Game 7 of the NBA Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Indiana PacersAaron NesmithPascal SiakamMyles TurnerAndrew NembhardTyrese HaliburtonOklahoma City ThunderJalen WilliamsChet HolmgrenIsaiah HartensteinLu DortShai Gilgeous-Alexander
Oklahoma City Thunder officials are certainly confident of a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. Buses were seen at the Paycom Center, primed and painted and ready for a victory parade, with the words 2025 NBA Champions on them before Sunday’s winner-take-all game against the Indiana Pacers.
Word of the colorfully painted buses got around to Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who no doubt will use that as motivation to ruin any championship plans by the Thunder.
“I just saw a video that’s probably going to go viral of some buses, open-top buses, presumably for the parade that are already painted with them as champions. That’s all I’m thinking about right now,” Carlisle said.
Indiana is looking to become the first road team to win a Game 7 on the road since the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
Scott Foster, who incurred the ire of some Pacers fans, earlier in the NBA Finals, will not be on the floor as part of the officiating crew for Game 7. Here are the three referees:
James Capers (13th Finals; officiated Game 3)Josh Tiven (Sixth Finals; officiated Game 4)Sean Wright (Second Finals; officiated Game 4)
The Oklahoma City Thunder are favorites to win the series vs. the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, according to BetMGM (odds as of afternoon of Sunday, June 22):
Spread: Thunder (-6.5)Moneyline: Thunder (-275); Pacers (+220)Over/under: 215.5USA TODAY: Majority pick ThunderJeff Zillgitt: Thunder 101, Pacers 96Lorenzo Reyes: Thunder 107, Pacers 106Scooby Axson: Pacers 116, Thunder 113James Williams: Thunder 110, Pacers 105Jordan Mendoza: Thunder 102, Pacers 99
The Oklahoma City Thunder have one NBA championship. However, it came in 1979 when the team was the Seattle SuperSonics. They have not won a title since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008.
The Indiana Pacers have not won an NBA championship. They have two Eastern Conference titles (2000, 2025).
The most recent NBA Finals to reach a Game 7 came in 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first championship in franchise history. The Cavs were down 3-1 against the Golden State Warriors through the first four games before winning two games in a row to tie the series. Cleveland then won Game 7 on the road and became the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals.
The NBA Finals have gone to a full seven games 19 times in the league’s history. The first seven-game series was in 1951 when the Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) won Game 7 at home over the New York Knicks. The first 12 of those 19 seven-game series occurred in the 1950s, 60s or 70s, with just seven taking place since. The last time an NBA Finals went to a Game 7 was 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors on the road in the decisive game.
The Lakers have played in nine Game 7s – the first two as the Minneaplis Lakers before moving to Los Angeles – which is the most in NBA history. But the Lakers have only won four of those nine games. The Boston Celtics are 7-1 when playing in a Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
The Indiana Pacers have a chance to etch their name in a very exclusive list should they win the NBA championship: winning a Game 7 on the road. When the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, they became just the fourth team in NBA history to win a Game 7 on the road. Here are the four teams that won the decisive Game 7 on their opponent’s home court (home in italics):
2016: Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Golden State Warriors1978: Washington Bullets defeated Seattle Supersonics1974: Boston Celtics defeated Milwaukee Bucks1969: Boston Celtics defeated Los Angeles Lakers
Players with the best odds to win the Most Valuable Player award of the 2025 NBA Finals, according to BetMGM (odds as of afternoon of Sunday, June 22):
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder): -235Pascal Siakam (Pacers): +310Jalen Williams (Thunder): +1200Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers): +1500TJ McConnell (Pacers): +10000Obi Toppin (Pacers): +25000Game 1, June 5: Pacers 111, Thunder 110Game 2, June 8: Thunder 123, Pacers 107Game 3, June 11: Pacers 116, Thunder 107Game 4, June 13: Thunder 111, Pacers 104Game 5, June 16: Thunder 120, Pacers 109Game 6, June 19: Pacers 108, Thunder 91Game 7, June 22: Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8 p.m.
ABC is televising Game 7 of the NBA Finals between Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT).
Game 7 between the Thunder and Pacers is available on ABC. Fans can also stream the action with Sling TV and Fubo, which offers a free trial for new users.
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