Indianapolis-Backup Guard Benedict Mathurin and TJ McConal helped Indiana’s bench break with 49 points as Pacers on Wednesday claimed a 2–1 lead in the NBA final in Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107.
Thanks to Mathurin for 27 points and the pacers have developed to love the type of Pyrotechnic Reserve Point Guard McConel, Indiana has the advantage in the best-seven series.
Tierich Heliberton provided the heroines with 22 points, 11 aids and nine rebels, while Pascal Siakam added 21 points for pacers, who did not lose back-to-back games since December.
Jalan Williams led Thunder with 26 points and Shai Gilgas-Alexander had 24 points. Chet Holmagren compiled 20 points and 10 rebounds but shot 0-for-6 from the 3-point range.
Game 4 is scheduled for Friday in Indianapolis.
Thunder hit 110–102 with three minutes to leave, but Alex Caruso tried to keep pacers in the open court with a theft and breakway from a premature celebration. Two steps in the paint, Aaron Nemith closed and brought both weapons down to caruso to stop the shot attempt and take it to the floor. After a review, no flagant foul was called.
Caruso made both free throw and Indiana’s Miles Turner later dropped the ball out of the boundary. However, the Turner, who missed eight out of his first 10 shots, came on the same possession to maintain an edge over six with two Holmagrain blocks.
Indiana found another stop, and Siakam burnt the stadium for good with an easy basket, which gave pacers 112–104 with 69 seconds.
McConel appeared everywhere, and he came with mass defensive plays.
He exploded from Caruso’s bullet inbound pass with two hands in the point-blank range under the basket and pumped into a trimmed to tie the game to 95 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Mathurin cashed a tray with the McConel aid, keeping the pacers above 98–96.
For the first time in the fourth quarter, Heliberton entered, took a handoff at the top of the key, stopped, squaded, squads and splasted his fourth 3-population of the game with a gain of 101-98 with 6:42 rest.
Aaron Nebhard of Indiana made a 12-foot jumper from the left elbow and pacers returned it after a 3-point attempt, to go with a touchdown lead (107-100) with a Miss of a Miss 4:23 with a Miss of a Miss on the two-hand sting of the OB Topin.
Nemith caught a skip pass on the Right Wing and dried a tray on Indiana’s next possession for an eight -point lead.
McConel trimmed a right hand between Mathurin between two clutch buckets, as pacers stayed below 93–91 with 10 minutes to play.
Oklahoma City had moved forward for its biggest lead of the second half-89-84 by the end of the third. Williams hit a long 3-pointer that came after Holmagrain and after another 1 baseline sting, which passed through McConal’s swiping hands.
Williams played a lot of games with the ball in his hands as Pacors worked to keep Gilgus-Alexander in the check.
The NBA leads the NBA reserve in per game aid in McConal Playoff (4.1).
-Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
