A new NBA champion will be crowned this Sunday, June 22, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder go head-to-head with Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center. It all comes down to Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Tip-off is at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

Resiliant Pacers will not go away, force Game 7 after 108-91 Game 6 win vs. Thunder

The Indiana Pacers forced Game 7 with an aggressive 108-91 win on home court on Thursday night. Obi Toppin led the way for Indiana with 20 points, Andrew Nembhard added 17, and Pascal Siakam scored 16 points with a team-high 13 rebounds.

Haliburton, playing through a strained calf injury, contributed 14 points.

“We did our job to take care of home court and we’ve got to be ready to compete in Game 7,” said Haliburton.

The Pacers’ defense forced 21 Thunder turnovers, including 8 from Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting.

“It was collective. It wasn’t one guy. We were not where we needed to be on either end of the floor for much of the game. We have to be a lot better before Game 7,” said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault.

“The way I see it is, we sucked [in Game 6]. We can learn our lessons. We have one game for everything — for everything we’ve worked for — and so do they,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The better team Sunday will win.”

Pacers, Thunder players feel weight of Game 7: ‘One game for everything you ever dreamed of’

How to watch Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers Game 7:

• Date: Sunday, June 22
• Time: 8:00 PM ET
• Where: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• TV Channel: ABC

The Thunder come in as heavy favorites, but we also have some best bets to consider this series.

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When is Game 7 of the NBA Finals?

Sunday, June 22, at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

What channel is the Thunder vs Pacers game on?

The Thunder vs Pacers series will take place on ABC.

Thunder vs Pacers Series Scores and Schedule:

*All times listed are ET

• Game 1: Pacers 111, Thunder 110
• Game 2: Thunder 123, Pacers 107
• Game 3: Pacers 116, Thunder 107
• Game 4: Thunder 111, Pacers 104
• Game 5: Thunder 120, Pacers 109
• Game 6: Pacers 108, Thunder 91
• Game 7: Pacers at Thunder – Sun, June 22, 8 PM on ABC

Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for each game of the Thunder vs Pacers series!

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Path to the NBA Finals:

The Thunder are seeking their first NBA title since relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008. The last time the franchise reached the Finals was in 2012, dropping their series against LeBron James’ Miami Heat in 5. Here is how they advanced to the NBA Finals:

Oklahoma City swept the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies in the First Round, eliminated the No. 4 Denver Nuggets in 7 in the Conference Semifinals, and defeated the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves in 5 in the Western Conference Finals.

Times, they are a changin’ – Thunder vs. Pacers Finals highlights generational change sweeping NBA

Indiana Pacers’ Path to the NBA Finals:

The Indiana Pacers are seeking their first NBA title. The team’s last Finals appearance was in 2000, when they lost to the Lakers in 6. Here is the team’s path to the Finals:

Indiana eliminated the No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks and the No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers in 5 games, before knocking out the No. 6 New York Knicks in 6 to advance to the Finals.

Head to nbcsports.com/nba for the latest news, updates, and storylines!

The transfer portal came to a close on Monday, and Patty Gasso’s coaching staff appears to be done with their summer business. 

Oklahoma graduated three players after its season came to an end in the WCWS semifinals — first baseman Cydney Sanders and pitchers Sam Landry and Isabella Smith — meaning there will be plenty of familiar faces in the Love’s Field dugout next year. 

The Sooners did lose four players to the transfer portal in outfielders Hannah Coor and Maya Bland, infielder Kadey Lee McKay and catcher Corri Hicks, though only Coor consistently factored into Gasso’s starting lineup in 2025.

After signing the top-rated class in the country a year ago, Gasso repeated that trick, and five talented freshmen are set to join the program in the fall. 

Outfielder Kai Minor, who was rated as the best player in the entire recruiting class by Softball America, will join infielder Lexi McDaniel, catcher Kendall Wells and pitchers Allyssa Parker and Berkley Zache at Oklahoma next season. 

Pitcher Sophia Bordi, who redshirted last season but did not finish the year with the program, appears set to return to Norman and Gasso added a transfer pitcher in former LSU star Sydney Berzon. 

OU’s string of four-straight titles may have ended in 2025, but the Sooners are primed to again be in the hunt for a national title in 2026.

Two of the three spots in the OU outfield are straightforward to project. 

Kasidi Pickering, who started 61 games in 2025 and finished second on the team with a .392 batting average and 18 home runs, will hold down a spot. 

She’ll be flanked by Abigale Dayton, who also started 61 games, and hit .325 with three home runs, eight doubles, a triple and 19 RBIs.

The last spot could be up for grabs well into the season. 

By the time the SEC Tournament rolled around, freshman Sydney Barker was Gasso’s choice to get her bat into the lineup. 

At a minimum, Barker will be available to feature heavily in right fight. 

If Barker is able to replace Sanders at first base, however, that could open things up for Minor and potentially Tia Milloy to work themselves into the lineup in the outfield. 

Milloy appeared in 50 games as a freshman, though she only started 11, and she hit .259 with five home runs and a double in 54 at-bats.

Superstar Ella Parker is also back for her junior year, and while she primarily serves as OU’s designated player, she can also deputize in the outfield if needed. 

Much like the outfield, there should be only one spot up for grabs in Gasso’s infield. 

Nelly McEnroe-Marinas cemented herself as a reliable third baseman as a redshirt freshman, and the middle infield duo of Gabbie Garcia at shortstop and Ailana Agbayani at second was one of OU’s many strengths by the end of the year. 

That leaves the major battle at first, where Barker played a handful of times in relief of Sanders a year ago. 

McDaniel, the true freshman, could be given an opportunity during the fall to try and battle at the position, as could any other bat that Gasso might try to work into the lineup.

In all likelihood, it feels like a spot for Barker to call home after a strong close to her freshman campaign in Norman. 

Associate head coach and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha has slowly adopted a staff approach over the past decade, but 2026 could be her largest rotation to date. 

Berzon’s arrival gives the Sooners an ace to replace Landry, and she’s already proven to be effective in the SEC. 

She’s earned NFCA All-American honors twice before, and the change of scenery to work with Rocha has benefitted plenty of veteran transfers before. 

Kierston Deal, Paytn Monticelli and Audrey Lowery all return from the 2025 rotation as well, which gives the Sooners plenty of experience both as starting pitchers and out of the bullpen. 

Before Bordi reclassified, she was rated as the top pitcher in the 2025 class per Softball America.

With her officially moving into the 2024 class, Parker took over the top spot and Zache signed as the No. 5-ranked pitcher.

Berzon will lead the way, but Rocha has more viable options than ever before to piece together game plans all year. 

Behind the plate, Isabela Emerling returns a wealth of experience at catcher that she can pass on to Wells, who is the top-rated catcher in the country. 

Emerling played in 58 games, making 56 starts, and Wells should have more opportunities to work her way into the lineup early in 2026 unlike Hicks, who dealt with injuries during fall ball a year ago. 

Oklahoma didn’t have to do much work in the transfer portal, unlike Texas Tech, due to the talent retained and Gasso signing another group of freshmen with sky-high expectations. 

But the lack of noise in the portal won’t hamper the Sooners’ efforts to be in the hunt for another WCWS crown next June. 

With the offseason in full swing, head coach Trisha Ford and her staff are making all of the right moves as far as adding some dominant players to their roster. Ford just picked up Micaela Wark, the exclusive designated player from Oklahoma State, to add some extra power to Texas A&M’s offense.

The Aggies also landed Oklahoma State star infielder Tallen Edwards, who won the 2024 Gold Glove Award.

After redshirting her freshman year at Kansas, Wark headed down to Oklahoma State, where she played in 170 games with the Cowgirls as well as starting 157 of those. Before hitting the transfer portal, Wark put up impressive numbers in her three-year career at OSU with 29 home runs and 99 RBI.

In 2024 and 2025, Wark played primarily as the designated player, giving her team some ease when she stepped into the batter’s box. She ended the 2025 season with a batting average of .241 with 28 hits and going deep eight different times.

As far as what this means for the Aggies, it could mean a couple of different things. Last season, the designated player role was primarily graduate Mac Barbara before she fulfilled duties behind the plate, which is when it switched to incoming junior Mya Perez.

Perez played first base for the Aggies for the majority this season, but with a catcher injury sending Barbara behind the dish, Perez stepped in to the designated player role. With Wark primarily being a designated player for two seasons at OSU, Perez very much could go back to her early season role at first base.

With a senior coming into A&M, Wark will provide experience and expertise to a young Texas A&M team. With two seperate Women’s College World Series appearances in 2023 and 2024, Wark understands how to play under pressure.

With one remaining year of eligibility, Wark has decided to come back to her home state for the last season of her college softball career.