Indiana Pacers v Oklahoma City Thunder: NBA finals Game 7 – live updates

5 hours ago 7

How to watch Game 7 of the NBA finals

Game 7 of the NBA finals between the Pacers and Thunder will tip off shortly after 8pm US eastern time on Sunday (1am BST on Monday).

In the US, the game will air on ABC. Streaming options include ABC.com or the ABC app (with a participating TV provider login), as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, fuboTV, DIRECTV STREAM and Sling TV (via ESPN3).

In the UK, the game will be available on TNT Sports and Discovery+. As for streaming,

In Australia, the game will broadcast live on ESPN Australia. Additionally, Kayo Sports and Foxtel Now will stream the games live.

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Prediction

I don’t like to brag, but if you followed our Game 1 blog as I am sure you did, you may have noticed that I picked Indiana to win in seven games. Well, here we are, Game 7 and that means I am one Indiana victory from prediction immortality. I plan on making that leap tonight along with the Pacers, who will also have achieved a little something special. How will Indy do it? The same way they always do, a few McConnell in bounds steals here, a Toppin monster dunk there, great defense from Mathurin and Nembhard, some threes from the healing Nesmith, a steady Haliburton, who somehow grabs 10 rebounds and hits an off balance last-second shot, and a lot from Siakam, who will win a Finals MVP award to go along with his Eastern Conference Finals MVP award - sorry Tyrese. The skittish Thunder tip their caps and wait till next year, 107-104. Done.

Do you buy that? Send your prediction in, now!

Tip-off coming very very soon. Stick with us!

Whoa!

I’ve just learned that Rick Carlisle got wind that busses were being painted with OKC “2025 champions” on them.

I don’t even have words that can articulate just how bad that is. B-A-D BAD!

If you’re going to do that, for f’s sake, do not get caught! I know they make the shirts and hats in advance, but that’s the league marketing folks doing that, and you can’t burn a bus if they lose.

OKC – if they lose tonight, they will never live that down, never, ever, ever, EVER.

And you got Rick mad. Damn.

The mother of all bad ideas.

Rick the Ruler

Has Rick Carlisle gotten enough love? I don’t think so. The Pacers head coach who led the Dallas Mavericks to an upset Finals victory over LeBron’s and Wade’s Miami Heat in 2011 is on the verge of turning the trick for a second time. You don’t have to convince Thunder coach Mark Daigneault that Carlisle is amongst the elite NBA head coaches, he called coaching against him “humbling.” You can add intensity to that list of adjectives. Up 28 points in Game 6, a pretty comfortable lead, Carlisle roasted Obi Toppin for failing to close out a three point shot. “You cannot do that shit”, or something like that. Toppin was subsequently removed from the game.

Ahead of the series finale, Rick said “This is a time to celebrate. These moments are rare…I’m very much looking forward to Game 7.”

He also said “I love pressure. What you learn is that these moments are rare, and trying to duplicate this kind of situation is something that you look to do in everyday life. It’s not easy to do that. It’s not easy to do that.”

RC also left OKC with this blast, just to freak out the young Thunder a little more heading into the biggest game of their lives. “There are more adjustments that can be made, for sure.”

Damn.

Rick Carlisle: his head games are subtle, polite, but scary as hell for the other team. He loves pressure, and frankly, he can be my coach any day. If Miami’s Erik Spoelstra is the top coach, Carlisle is bidding for the second spot with Steve Kerr as no2 in the league with Steve Kerr of Golden State. There can’t be much between them, especially if he wins tonight.

ICYMI

Meanwhile…isn’t there a rule that says there can’t be league-altering blockbuster deals ahead of the crown jewel event of an NBA season? If there isn’t, there should be. And if there is, someone sprung a leak.

Anyway, Kevin Durant is heading to Houston, and Phoenix is getting Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Houston’s No. 10 pick in the upcoming draft and five second-round picks.

Yeah, that’s a lot. All I can say is, the Rockets better win in 2025-2026 or there’s gonna be a lot of problems in Houston.

We could debate this deal for hours, and if there’s a blowout, maybe we will!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Greetings!

They said this series would suck. They said this series would be short. But I am here to say now, hello and welcome to our live coverage of Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Seven games, that’s as long as it can go. You don’t get bad seven game series, it doesn’t happen. The Thunder and Pacers match-up is no exception.

For those of you new to basketball and wanted to see what all the fuss was about, the season ends tonight, and we’re guaranteed to have a new champion. So yeah, it’s kind of a big deal, which is why you’re here.

What a series it’s been - the Pacers and Thunder defenses have smothered a pair of exceptionally strong offenses, and now there’s one final slug-fest to come in Oklahoma.

The Thunder won 68 games this regular season, amongst the best of all-time, and the payoff is a Game 7 at home. It’s a significant advantage for OKC: the home team has won 16 NBA Finals game sevens while the road team has won just four. So, it will be an uphill battle for Indy, but guess what? They don’t care at all about where they’re playing, and they don’t care about who they’re playing. If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that counting out the Pacers under any circumstances is an enormous mistake. They were counted out in Game 6, having lost two straight in a seven game series, which is always difficult to overcome. Tyrese Haliburton, their all-NBA guard, was either going to be out with an injury or severely hampered. And Oklahoma was seen to have figured Indiana out - I’m pretty sure there was some parade talk happening in OKC. Then Indy came out and absolutely destroyed the Thunder, and in a way we have not seen a whole lot of these playoffs. It was a pretty “wow” moment.

Bottom line: if you’re not impressed with Indiana, then you’re not analysing in good faith. With all that said, there’s a strong argument that OKC will win this game tonight. First off, the fact that they’re favored by 8.5 points tells you just how superior the Thunder have been at home. Vegas believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will cap his MVP season with Oklahoma’s first title, and that Jalen Williams will follow up his masterful 40-point Game 5 and his duds of a Game 6 with another stellar performance in the biggest of spots.

And if they don’t win, and Indiana figures out a way to swipe their first ever NBA title, OKC’s season will be an abject failure. Not fair? Maybe, but that’s the truth, Ruth.

I can’t wait, and if you’re reading this, chances are you are also counting the minutes to tip-off. We’ll have more to come as we head towards game time, but for now, why not email over your Game 7 prediction over and I’ll put your name in the paper. Who doesn’t love that?

More to come - stick with us!