The 2025 NBA Finals pitted the league’s most dominant regular season team against its greatest comeback story.
The Oklahoma City Thunder rolled through the regular season with a 68-14 record, while the Indiana Pacers started 10-15 before storming back to reach the Finals for the first time since 2000.
What unfolded was a seven-game battle where superior talent ultimately prevailed over remarkable resilience. Here’s exactly how the 2025 Finals played out, game by game.
2025 NBA Finals At a Glance
| Category | Thunder | Pacers |
| Regular Season Record | 68-14 | 50-32 |
| Seeds | #1 West | #6 East |
| Home Court | Yes | No |
| Series Result | Won 4-3 | Lost 3-4 |
| Finals MVP | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | N/A |
| Leading Scorer (Series) | Gilgeous-Alexander (30+ PPG) | Siakam (23 PPG) |
| First Title/Finals Appearance | First OKC Title | First Finals Since 2000 |
Series Overview: Elite Team vs. Miracle Run
The Thunder represented everything modern basketball could be. They had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his prime, emerging star Jalen Williams, and a suffocating defense that forced opponents into uncomfortable situations. Home court advantage belonged to Oklahoma City from the start.
The Pacers represented something different entirely. They’d nearly blown their season in January before executing a complete transformation.
Tyrese Haliburton emerged as a true co-star, Pascal Siakam provided steady inside scoring, and the team had developed an almost supernatural ability to win games when down double figures.
Neither team had been to the Finals recently. Thunder hadn’t been since 2012 with Kevin Durant. Pacers hadn’t been since 2000.
That meant no championship experience stood on the Pacers’ side, and no championship reps for this Thunder core.
Game 1: Pacers Steal Home Court (June 5, 2025)
Pacers 111, Thunder 110
The Thunder led almost the entire game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 38 points and showed why he’d become the league’s most dominant scorer. Oklahoma City’s efficiency looked unstoppable in Game 1.
Then Tyrese Haliburton made a game-winning two-point jumper with the game on the line. The Pacers had done it on basketball’s biggest stage. That one shot changed everything about the series narrative immediately.
A Pacers win at home in Game 1 meant they’d stolen home court from the better seeded team. The Thunder’s dominance all season suddenly felt more human.
Game 2: Thunder Responds (June 8, 2025)
Thunder 123, Pacers 107
The Thunder answered with force. They shot the three-ball at elite efficiency and suffocated Indiana’s offense with their signature defense. Jalen Williams stepped up alongside Gilgeous-Alexander to show the Pacers they’d face two different scoring threats.
A 16-point Thunder victory tied the series heading back to Indianapolis. The gap between these teams suddenly felt wider than Game 1 had suggested. Thunder’s depth and skill level showed in the blowout’s margins.
Game 3: Pacers Reclaim Momentum (June 11, 2025)
Pacers 116, Thunder 107
The Pacers took Game 3 in their arena where the crowd energy felt suffocating for the Thunder. Pascal Siakam dominated inside, and Haliburton orchestrated everything with calm precision. The Pacers proved Game 1 wasn’t a fluke.
Suddenly the Pacers were up 2-1. One more win meant they’d threaten to close out the Thunder at home. That felt unthinkable given the Thunder’s regular season dominance. The narrative had completely shifted in three games.
Game 4: Thunder’s Desperate Comeback (June 13, 2025)
Thunder 111, Pacers 104
This game was the series’ pivot point. The Pacers led by 10 points late in the second half with everything pointing toward a 3-1 series lead. Teams up 3-1 in the Finals have won 37 of 38 times historically.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over. He scored 15 of his 35 points in the final 4:38, dragging the Thunder back from the brink of elimination. The game featured multiple ties down the stretch with Thunder showing championship-level execution when it mattered most.
A Thunder win meant they’d forced the series back to Oklahoma City as desperate underdogs. That comeback revealed something about Thunder’s core: they wouldn’t panic when facing elimination.
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Game 5: Thunder Takes Control (June 16, 2025)
Thunder 120, Pacers 109
Jalen Williams scored a career playoff-high 40 points on efficient shooting. Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points and 10 assists, showing why he’d claim Finals MVP. The Thunder separated themselves with elite three-point shooting at 44 percent as a team.
Thunder moved to 3-2 and one win away from the championship. The momentum had shifted completely now. Pacers found themselves needing to win two straight in enemy territory, something that rarely happens in the Finals.
Game 6: Pacers Force Game 7 (June 19, 2025)
Pacers 108, Thunder 91
The Thunder had a terrible game. They couldn’t shoot, couldn’t execute, and looked completely lost offensively. The Pacers dominated at home with Obi Toppin scoring 20 points and Andrew Nembhard adding 17 off the bench.
This wasn’t necessarily the Pacers’ championship-level performance as much as Thunder’s uncharacteristic dysfunction. Yet the Pacers couldn’t capitalize fully for an outright win that would tie the series. They won Game 6 but needed one more victory against a better team.
The stage was set for the first Game 7 in the Finals since 2016.
Game 7: Thunder Wins First Championship (June 22, 2025)
Thunder 103, Pacers 91
Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles tendon in the opening minutes. The Pacers lost their floor general and emotional leader right when they needed him most. That injury didn’t determine the outcome, but it shaped the narrative forever.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished his Finals MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists. The Thunder’s defense forced 22 Pacers turnovers, suffocating the Pacers’ passing lanes without Haliburton orchestrating the offense. Oklahoma City pulled away in the third quarter and never looked back.
The Thunder captured their first championship under the Oklahoma City name. The franchise’s first title since Seattle won in 1979 meant everything for a community that had waited decades.
This wasn’t just a win; it was validation that Thunder’s rebuild had produced a championship team.
Finals Stats: Why Thunder Won
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged over 30 points per game throughout the series while shooting efficiently and finding teammates.
Jalen Williams provided a legitimate second scoring option that Pacers couldn’t adequately defend. Pascal Siakam kept fighting for the Pacers with 28 points in Game 5 and consistent inside production.
Thunder’s three-point shooting proved decisive. They shot 41 percent from three across the series while the Pacers shot 36 percent.
That four-point gap on high volume added up across seven games. Thunder also forced 15 percent more turnovers through their suffocating team defense.
The Pacers’ bench outscored Thunder’s bench in Games 2 and 6, showing their depth wasn’t the issue.
Haliburton’s playmaking before his injury kept Indiana competitive through five and a half games. But ultimately two stars outplayed one star across a seven-game series.
The Series Narrative: Dominance Prevails
This wasn’t a shocking Finals outcome, despite how competitive the series looked. The Thunder possessed the better overall roster with more scoring options, better three-point shooting, and elite perimeter defense.
The Pacers had grit and remarkable comeback ability from their regular season resurrection.
Thunder proved the better team all season long and proved it again when it mattered most. They survived a Game 1 loss, answered with a blowout, weathered Game 3, and mounted that devastating Game 4 comeback. When the margin mattered most, superior talent showed up.
The Pacers’ Finals appearance represented something special for a franchise that started dreadfully.
Their playoff run included five comebacks from 15 or more points down. Making the Finals after that 10-15 start felt like winning already for Indiana, even though they fell short at the finish line.
Thunder’s championship validated everything about the rebuild that began when they traded Kevin Durant away in 2019. New star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had finally delivered what Durant’s era couldn’t: a title in Oklahoma City.
FAQs
What was the final score of Game 7?
Thunder won 103-91. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points with 12 assists while leading the Thunder’s defense in forcing Pacers turnovers.
Why did Haliburton miss Game 7?
Haliburton didn’t miss Game 7 entirely. He tore his Achilles tendon in the opening minutes, forcing him to exit immediately. The injury prevented him from returning to the game.
Did the Pacers win any games?
The Pacers won three games. They won Game 1 at home with Haliburton’s game-winner, Game 3 in Indianapolis behind Siakam’s performance, and Game 6 with a complete blowout of the Thunder.
Who was Finals MVP?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won Finals MVP. He averaged over 30 points per game with consistent efficiency and playmaking throughout the seven-game series.
How many games were played?
Seven games were played. Thunder won the series 4-3 with the clinching game on June 22, 2025.
What was Thunder’s regular season record?
The Thunder finished with a 68-14 regular season record, the best in the NBA. That excellence translated to their first championship in Oklahoma City.
What was Pacers’ regular season record?
The Pacers finished 50-32 after starting the season 10-15. Their mid-season turnaround and playoff success made them one of basketball’s great comeback stories.
Which team held home court advantage?
Thunder held home court due to their superior regular season record. Game 7 was played in Oklahoma City, which they won to clinch the title.
