The Indiana Pacers pulled off yet another fourth quarter sprint, outrunning the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-107, to pull ahead of the series, 2-1, in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, on June 12.

An electric off-the-bench performance from shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin saw him leading the Pacers’ production with an efficient career playoff-high 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting.

“He’s putting in a lot of work to be ready for these moments. Tonight he was an absolute major factor,” said Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle of Mathurin’s spectacular showing despite his absence in missed last season’s playoffs due to a shoulder injury.

Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton almost tallied a triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds in the Pacers’ bounce-back win at home.

A tightly knit race

The opening frame saw the Thunder sparking a 9-2 rally for an early nine-point lead, 6-15 from yet another monster start that saw Chet Holmgren notching eight points.

The Pacers managed to pull within striking distance, 20-22, off a back-to-back triple from Miles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton, but OKC kept its stride to finish the quarter ahead by eight points, 24-32.

The lead did not hold for long as Mathurin and T. J. McConnell came roaring out of the Pacers bench, completely turning things around in the second quarter. Indiana took its first lead of the game, 37-36.

Back-to-back buckets from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gave the lead back to the Thunder, 51-53, but Haliburton’s quick 5-point outburst put back the Pacers to their margin till halftime, 64-60.

The second half saw a relentless 8-0 barrage from OKC, 64-68, which was immediately met with a 6-0 pushback from the Pacers to regain their edge, 72-70.

Two back-and-forth buckets from both teams and three lead changes saw the Thunder coming out of the third-quarter slugfest with a five-point gap, 84-89.

Final stretch sprint

Down by five into the final frame, the fiery bench duo of Mathurin and McConnell fueled the Pacers’ vintage fourth-quarter kick, reminiscent of their second quarter heroics.

Following a midrange shot from Andrew Nembhard to pull within two, an insane inbound pass interception plus an easy bucket from T. J. brought the game to a 95-95 deadlock.

After SGA split his free throws for a one-point lead, Pacers hot hand Mathurin drained a huge three for Indiana’s first lead in the fourth, 98-96.

Jalen Williams managed to tie the game once more at 98-98, but a clutch Tyrese triple with 6:42 remaining gave the Pacers all the separation they needed to pull away with the victory.

“I’m just proud of the way we bounced back from a rough ending to the third quarter,” said Pacers head coach Carlisle as Indiana had never entered the fourth quarter with a lead the whole series. “That was something that could’ve shaken us up a lot. They kept their heads down. They kept competing.”

The Thunder big three led their squad in the offensive end with Williams tallying a team-high 26 points, Gilgeous-Alexander with 24 points, and Holmgren with 20 points in OKC’s losing effort.

“We had a lot of good stretches in the game but they had more good stretches than we did and outplayed us over the course of the 48 minutes,” said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault in the wake-up-call loss on the road.

“We need to play better if we want to get ourselves a better chance in Game 4,” he added.

With Indiana now halfway in their quest for its first NBA championship, OKC will try to level things again in Game 4, still at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 14.

Read more: Thunder level series after thrashing Pacers in Game 2