nba finals pacers thunder.

Given the way Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton was limping on his way out of the postgame news conference after Game 5 of the NBA Finals, it’s safe to assume he’s a fan of the schedule right about now. Put simply, he could use a couple of days off — at least. Haliburton has a lower leg injury and it seems to be the sort that if this were a back-to-back situation in December, he’d be missing at least one game. But these are the finals. This is June. There no back-to-backs in the playoffs. And when the league gets to the last series, two-day breaks between games aren’t uncommon.

The ratings are down for these NBA Finals, as was expected. Oklahoma City vs. Indiana is a small-market series and the numbers reflect exactly that, with viewership down about 20% from last season and on pace for the poorest TV turnout since the bubble finals in 2020. Don’t blame the Thunder and Pacers for that. It’s been a back-and-forth over the first four games — and now, a best-of-three will decide the NBA title. Game 5 is in Oklahoma City on Monday night, with the Thunder trying to take their first lead of the series and the Pacers trying to head back home one win from a championship.

The Oklahoma City Thunder showed their bounce-back capability in Game 2. The Indiana Pacers know they better do the same in Game 3. The NBA Finals resume Wednesday night with the series tied at a game apiece, the matchup shifting to Indianapolis for what will be the first finals game in that city in 25 years. And the Pacers know it’s on them to respond after Game 2 wasn’t much of a contest. It’s obviously possible: The Pacers haven’t lost back-to-back games in three months, going 9-0 after losses in that span. This would be a good time for them to extend that run.