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Is the clock finally striking midnight on the Indiana Pacers' Cinderella run? The Pacers are hoping for one more magical two-game stretch this season, as they will look to defy the odds yet again, this time coming back from down 3-2 in the NBA Finals after losing Game 5 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 120-109. For a time on Monday night, it looked like the Pacers were on their way to another magical comeback, but they lost steam in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over in four consecutive possessions in a decisive stretch in the final frame.
The Pacers may be the most resilient and most unflappable team the league has ever seen, but the kind of adversity they've faced in the 2025 NBA Finals is unlike any other they've overcome earlier in the postseason. They blew a late lead in Game 4 that could have given them a 3-1 lead in the series, and they failed to finish the comeback on Monday, falling off the pace after cutting the deficit to two early in the fourth quarter.
Nonetheless, the Pacers are still playing with joy and playing for one another. The longest-tenured player on the squad, Myles Turner, showed just how much fire remains beneath them even after suffering back-to-back dispiriting defeats.
“It’s the best time of the year, bro. We’re going back to Gainbridge, backs against the wall. It’s the type of stuff you dream of as a kid. I think I’m motivated, that's the best way to describe it,” Turner told reporters following the game, via ClutchPoints' Tomer Azarly.
“It’s the best time of the year, bro. We’re going back to Gainbridge, backs against the wall. It’s the type of stuff you dream of as a kid. I’m motivated.”
Myles Turner on do-or-die Game 6 back at home.
(via @TomerAzarly) pic.twitter.com/Wih9z4nf4x
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 17, 2025
This Pacers team is never rattled, and they know that it's not over until the fat lady sings. They still have time to come back from the series, although Turner and company will have to take it one game at a time.
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Pacers must bring their composure off the court onto the hardwood
While the Pacers never lose hope and are approaching the game with the same mentality, win or lose, they were clearly not at their best, execution-wise, to begin Game 5. They were almost rattled, feeling the need to rush their execution to prevent the Thunder from suffocating them, and in the end, they ended up being swallowed whole, turning the ball over 22 times which led to 32 fastbreak points for OKC.
Tyrese Haliburton will need to wake up for Game 6, while Turner has to hit some looping three-pointers to make sure that the Thunder defense is always stretched out — opening the paint for someone like Pascal Siakam to do damage.
