Sunday will mark the 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history, after the underdog Indiana Pacers put together an incredible performance in a 108–91 Game 6 win that wasn't even as close as that decisive margin shows. Facing elimination—and with star guard Tyrese Haliburton playing through a calf injury that has clearly hampered him—the Pacers exploded to a 64–42 halftime lead and held the Thunder to just 26.7% shooting from three-point range to cruise to victory.
Recent history has been very kind to the team that staves off elimination to force a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. In the last 20 years, the three teams to win Game 6 to force a Game 7 of the NBA Finals went on to close out the series.
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in an 83–79 slugfest to win the 2010 championship, the Miami Heat took down the San Antonio Spurs 95–88 to close out the 2013 Finals and the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers won a 93–89 classic against the Golden State Warriors to earn their first title.
Of the three, only the Cavaliers won Game 7 on the road, which is what Indiana is tasked with doing on Sunday.
Overall, Game 7 has broken down pretty evenly, with the Game 6 winner going 9–10 in the deciding game. Among the teams to come back from down 3–2 to win the series is the 1978 Washington Bullets, who picked up back-to-back wins against the Seattle SuperSonics, the Thunder's forerunners, to win the title. The Sonics would win a rematch of that series in '79 for the franchise's first and only title.
The '78 Bullets and '16 Cavaliers are two of just four teams to win an NBA Finals Game 7 on the road, along with the 1969 and '74 Boston Celtics (against the Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively). The Pacers will look to join some very rarified air on Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as One Game 7 Trend Points to the Pacers Finishing Off Their Epic NBA Finals Comeback.
