Basketball Intelligence For 6/12/25
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
Thoughts from Game 3
Owen Phillips, The F5
THE FINALS
Thoughts from Game 3
Owen Phillips, The F5
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander brought the ball up the court on 23 possessions in Game 3. That’s an unusually low number.
Typically, the Oklahoma City Thunder put the ball in SGA’s hands as much as possible. In Games 1 and 2, the MVP brought the ball up the court on 42 and 40 possessions, respectively.
Most of the time SGA is the first Thunder player to touch the ball and oftentimes he’s the last. And for good reason. The Thunder have scored 1.26 points per possession when SGA has brought the ball up the court in the Finals.
So Indiana posed a simple question: what if we don’t let SGA bring the ball up the court?
Things are getting really interesting
Iztok Franko, digginbasketball
Pacers are showing who they really are — and that they’re for real
Zak Keefer, The Athletic
The Pacers’ Unlikely Heroes Chased the Thunder Off the Floor
Danny Chau, The Ringer
Mathurin. McConnell. Toppin. In Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals, the stars of Indy’s second unit turned the series on its head.
How Indiana's bench beat OKC in Game 3
Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports
T.J. McConnell sparks Pacers bench in a Game 3 Indiana needed to win
David Aldridge, The Athletic
Obi Toppin’s energy, high-flying feats help Pacers knock off Thunder in Game 3
James Boyd, The Athletic
Bennedict Mathurin, Tyrese Haliburton lead Pacers to Game 3 win
Dustin Dopirak, Indy Star
Bennedict Mathurin counted the days until his NBA Finals moment for the Pacers
Shakeia Taylor, The Athletic
Myles Turner was 'under the weather.' But his blocks were key
Joel Erickson, Indy Star
Pacers Grab NBA Finals Game 3 Victory
Chris Mannix, Sports Illustrated
Indiana does what it does best to defend its home court
Vincent Goodwill, Yahoo Sports
Pacers find brilliance everywhere as they take Game 3
Samson Folk, Basketball She Wrote
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander must 'apply that pressure back' for OKC to win NBA Finals
Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman
5 Takeaways from Game 3
Justin Martinez, The Oklahoman
How T.J. McConnell, Pacers snatched Game 3 away from Thunder
Joel Lorenzi, The Oklahoman
Bennedict Mathurin turns NBA Finals in Indiana's favor in Game 3
Joe Mussatto/Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman
Thunder’s Game 3 turnover failings have put playoff run in danger again
Anthony Slater, The Athletic
Perfect passes, run-outs, and lefty drives.
Jared Dubin, Last Night In Basketball
TEAM-SPECIFIC
BOS: Player Grades: Forwards
Adam Taylor, Celtics Chronicle
IND: ‘Dr. Dunk’ Darnell Hillman remains important part of Indiana Pacers’ rich history
Marc J Spears, Andscape
NYK: The Knicks knew they wanted to fire Tom Thibodeau. After that? Well, you’re seeing it
Sam Amick, The Athletic
ORL: Finding Jalen Suggs' role is central to offseason
Philip Rossman-Reich, World R Squared
PHX: Suns coach Jordan Ott breaks down what he gained from each coach he's worked for
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
PHX: Takeaways from Suns coach Jordan Ott’s introductory press conference
Gerald Bourguet, Go PHNX
PHX: Suns head coach Jordan Ott 'will leave no stone unturned'
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
LEAGUEWIDE
Why the NBA’s New All-Star Format Might Finally Matter Again
David Skilling, Culture Of Sport
BI: We’ve been among those who have been pushing for a USA vs World format for 5 years only to face the Assn’s bizarre excuses for not doing it (can something be TOO obvious to do?). Most NBA followers tuned out the all-star “game” farce a while ago. They’ll come back for this if it is handled right: just make it USA vs World - don’t have a multi-country tournament that might lead to a mismatched final.
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