INDIANAPOLIS – By the time Bennedict Mathurin stepped to the free-throw line with 24 seconds remaining, Gainbridge Fieldhouse had gone mostly quiet.

The Pacers were sputtering and spitting to the finish line, the offense scoreless for three minutes as Oklahoma City took a four-point lead and — stunningly — command of Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night.

But Mathurin stood at the free-throw line with a chance to cut that four-point lead in half and give this crazy, cardiac Pacers team a chance for another thrilling comeback. He missed both, helping to slam the door on Oklahoma City’s 111-104 victory.

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A few seconds later, with the Pacers trailing by five, Mathurin missed another free throw after a steal on the inbounds play. He made the second, but those three misses were surprising considering Mathurin is an 83% free-throw shooter on the season and had been shooting 89% during the playoffs.

“It’s very tough,” Mathurin said. “I’ve made those free throws, and I love making tough free throws. The only thing I can do is to knock them down next time.”

It was hardly the only thing that went wrong for the Pacers down the stretch. But it was one more dagger in a disastrous final 3:20 for the Pacers, which appeared poised to hold off the Thunder after Tyrese Haliburton’s finger roll layup put Indiana ahead 103-99.

From that point forward, Oklahoma City was 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. The Pacers were 1-for-4. For the game, the Thunder were 34-for-38 to 25-for-33 for the Pacers.

“They had 38 free throws, and that was a problem,” Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle said. “They made 34 out of 38. We had 33 and made 25. They missed four. We missed eight. The difference of four is significant.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s Pacers coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Pacers Update newsletter.