Thunder vs Pacers: Game 7 Preview, How to Watch & Odds/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The NBA Finals are tied 3‑3 as the Indiana Pacers forced a deciding Game 7 with a dominant performance in Game 6. Sunday night’s finale takes place in Oklahoma City at the Paycom Center with tip-off at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The Thunder enter as home favorites, but the Pacers have confidence after their Game 6 blowout win.
Quick Look
- Game 7: Sunday, June 22 – Pacers at Thunder, 8 p.m. ET on ABC
- Viewing: Live on ABC; stream via ESPN/Sling/Hulu/YouTube TV, etc.
- Odds: Thunder –7.5; moneyline OKC –325, Pacers +260; O/U 215.5
- All-Time Edge: Home teams 15‑4 in Finals Game 7s; notable road win in 2016
- Stars to Watch: SGA chasing historic scoring total; Pacers’ bench depth key
- Locale: Paycom Center; first-ever Game 7 for Pacers franchise
Thunder vs Pacers: Game 7 Preview, How to Watch & Odds
Deep Look
Game 7 will be the 20th in NBA Finals history and the first since 2016. Historically, home teams hold a 15‑4 advantage in Finals Sevens, though Cleveland famously won on the road in 2016. Oklahoma City owns home‑court advantage, riding a stellar 68‑14 regular‑season record, but Indiana surged back with a 108‑91 win in Game 6 to match the series at three‑all.
The winner‑take‑all contest tips off Sunday at 8 p.m. ET from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Fans in the U.S. can watch live on ABC, with streaming available via ESPN and platforms like Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, FuboTV, and DirecTV (offers vary).
As of now, odds favor the Thunder by 7.5 points, a reduction from +8.5 earlier. Oklahoma City is listed at approximately –325 to win the title, while the Pacers are at +260. The over/under total is 215.5, making it the highest-point Game 7 ever for the Finals. The Thunder have covered the spread in 10 of their 22 playoff games, while Indiana has hit it 14 times.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is aiming for historical scoring markers: he ranks among the top 14 all-time in combined regular-season and playoff points, needing just six more in Game 7 to surpass Michael Jordan and move into 12th place. His performance is crucial for Oklahoma City’s hopes of avoiding a road upset and establishing a young championship foundation.
The Pacers, by contrast, embody resilience. They’ve executed multiple double-digit comebacks this postseason and leaned on clutch performances from Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, TJ McConnell and Obi Toppin. In Game 6, Toppin hit 20 off the bench, Haliburton scored under duress, and the defense forced 21 Thunder turnovers during a decisive 68‑32 run stretch.
Geographic context: Oklahoma City and Indiana are only 688 miles apart—the shortest Finals pairing in nearly seven decades. Their proximity adds a regional intensity reminiscent of past matchups in the 1950s, but stakes this high have rarely come so locally.
With Game 7 looming, the narrative stretches beyond just team and tactics. Thunder fans are eyeing a potential franchise first while betting markets brace for a likely final-day surge, and ESPN’s feed is expected to spotlight history-making moments, star narratives, and the drama of a deciding contest.
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