NBA Basketball
2025-06-16 - Indiana Pacers at Oklahoma City Thunder
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Finals Game 5
Monday 16th June 2025 - Scheduled 8:30pm
1:30am (British Time)
Preview
Two full days of rest has been given to the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals and some of that time will have been spent thinking about what may have been, especially for Indiana.
Before the NBA Finals started, Indiana would likely have accepted being at 2-2 and with every chance of winning a first NBA Championship.
However, the way we have got this scoreline will sting considering Indiana had been leading by 4 points with time ticking down in the Fourth Quarter of Game 4 and with a 3-1 lead coming over the horizon. They scored just one point from that moment and some clutch basketball from the Oklahoma City Thunder, notably Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, helped them overcome the deficit and almost miraculously end up covering the spread.
They were helped by Bennedict Mathurin, who missed three Free Throws with the game in the balance at the end of the Fourth Quarter and then, inexplicably, made two fouls before the ball was inbounded to offer the Thunder a Free Throw AND possession.
Ultimately that was the clincher for the Thunder who did not play well in Game 4, but who will have taken a lot of belief out of the fact that they found a way to win.
It was perhaps surprising to see Indiana wilt in the final three minutes- they have been able to wear down so many opponents in those last few minutes, but this time it was the Pacers who struggled.
Both teams will benefit from having the days off to just recharge flagging batteries and that should see Game 5 improve in terms of the Offensive performances.
There is no doubt that the Thunder and Pacers are playing at a very high level Defensively, but there are some top playmakers on both sides of the court and those players will want to make a big impact in what feels like a pivotal game. With the Series at 2-2, this is a big opportunity for someone to step up and begin to write their name in NBA history and that pressure can either make, or break, a player.
All of that pressure feels like it is on the shoulders of SGA for the Thunder and Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers and both should log significant minutes as the Head Coaches perhaps begin to lose faith in some of the role players and bench to keep their team alive.
Out of the two teams, the Thunder looked much more tired in Game 3 and 4, but late buckets turned the tide in their favour.
Even then, it feels like they are being asked to lay a lot of points in this Game 5.
The number is not as high as the first two games hosted by the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it is still significant and the Pacers have refused to go away easily in any game played.
Hosts favoured by 4.5 points have a strong record in the NBA Finals, but the Thunder are 1-1 against the spread in the spot this season.
They will feel the role players are going to be more comfortable at home and adjustments may be made to give Alex Caruso more playing time having been so important to the turnaround in Game 4. That makes Oklahoma City dangerous and the Pacers are going to have to mentally recover from what they will feel was a big chance blown last time out.
However, resiliency is what the Pacers have displayed all season and they can keep this one competitive with that rest helping the players recover. This is a team that has refused to go away all post-season and this may be too many points being given to them barring any more late game mental check outs as they produced in Game 4.
Prediction
After blowing Game 4, all eyes will be on the Indiana Pacers who were moments away from holding a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
They can at least keep this one competitive with a lot of points being handed to them, even in a tough road environment and against an Oklahoma City Thunder team that will be reinvigorated after the victory to level up the Series.
The Pick :
Oklahoma City Thunder 116-112 Indiana Pacers
