NBA Basketball
2025-06-22 - Indiana Pacers at Oklahoma City Thunder
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Finals Game 7
Sunday 22nd June 2025 - Scheduled 8pm
1am (British Time)
Preview
Nine years have passed since the last Game 7 in the NBA Finals, but a poor display from the Oklahoma City Thunder has opened the door for another 'winner takes all' contest this Sunday.
They will be extremely disappointed with the entire performance- the role players struggled, turnovers absolutely crushed them and then a substandard display of shooting the three ball allowed the Indiana Pacers to surge clear and ultimately blow out the Western Conference Champions.
It has been a fun NBA Finals to watch, but it has been a huge frustration for the NBA Picks.
After blowing back to back covers by just three combined points, the Indiana Pacers had the perfect Game 6 performance.
Role players who had made critical mistakes in the Fourth Quarter in Game 4 and Game 5 played brilliantly in Game 6 and the momentum is now back with the Pacers.
However, it is a very tough Game 7 to call with the 'x factor' regarding turnovers almost impossible to call- the team that plays the cleanest game is likely going to win, but you can toss a coin and decide which of these two are most likely to do that in a hugely pressurised situation.
The Defensive schemes have been pretty good on both sides of the court and the adjustments made by the Indiana Pacers may just give them the edge, although the layers are well aware of the pressures on Game 7 with the total points line dropped by a huge amount between Game 6 and this one.
Picking a winner is not easy and you can make the case for both teams- the Oklahoma City Thunder have been a lot better at home than on the road, and they have controlled large parts of the three games they have hosted. Despite that, the Thunder have not really been able to put the Indiana Pacers away, although the spread is not nearly as high as the previous three games hosted by Oklahoma City.
It has been a very difficult post-season, the worst one since the Bubble of 2020, and so another disappointing late capitulation cannot be ruled out for the selection. The lean has to be with the Indiana Pacers, who have room for improvement from Game 6 even after the blowout win, and they have shown they can hang around.
Role players have to be careful with the ball and not kill the Indiana run with their turnovers as they did in Game 5 and it would not surprise anyone if the Thunder score a late bucket to win by 8 points, especially with the way things have bounced for the selections made.
However, the Indiana Pacers are a team that have fought hard throughout the Playoffs and one more big push should see them in a very competitive game and potentially pulling the outright upset.
The last three NBA Finals that have gone into a Game 7 have been won by the team that was victorious in Game 6, while teams that have won the previous game by double digits have produced a 8-4-1 record against the spread between Game 5 and Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
This all suggests Indiana can potentially win this one outright, but the recommendation is take the points and hope the late turnovers go in the right direction.
Prediction
Take the points with the road underdog in Game 7 of the NBA Finals as the season comes to a potentially 'epic' conclusion.
The Pick :
Oklahoma City Thunder 109-107 Indiana Pacers
