“The Pacers’ Big 3 Dominate from the Sidelines”
The Oklahoma City Thunder stepped onto the hardwood of Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Game 3 of the NBA Finals feeling confident—too confident. But they hadn’t planned for Indiana’s secret weapon in the stands: the Pacers’ real Big 3.
There they sat in Row A, just behind the scorers’ table—Tyrese Haliburton, Reggie Miller, and Caitlin Clark—the holy trinity of Indiana basketball. Tyrese, fresh from leading the Pacers to the Eastern Conference crown, leaned forward, grinning, firing off instructions like a floor general even from his seat. Reggie, forever the legend, nodded in approval, hands folded over a vintage “31” jersey. But it was Caitlin Clark, WNBA’s rookie phenomenon and Fever superstar, who radiated the strangest power.
Because the stat was real—undeniable now. Every single time Caitlin Clark was in the building this postseason, the Pacers had not lost. 8-0. Eight wins. Zero losses. And tonight, the arena buzzed with that quiet superstition made loud.
OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander glanced at the trio in warmups and frowned. Something about their presence set the crowd on fire. It wasn’t just a basketball game anymore. It was Indiana’s claim to history.
The first quarter flew by. Andrew Nembhard hit three threes. Myles Turner swatted back-to-back shots from Chet Holmgren like a man possessed. Every bounce, every cut—clean, crisp, perfect. And each time Haliburton stood and raised a fist, the crowd exploded as if he’d sunk a three himself.
Late in the second quarter, Bennedict Mathurin posterized Josh Giddey with a rim-rattling dunk that sent shockwaves across the Fieldhouse. Clark jumped up from her seat, waving a Fever towel wildly over her head as the Jumbotron lit up with her face—”8-0 with Caitlin Clark in the building!” The arena roared like the Hoosier Dome in its glory days.
Reggie Miller simply smiled. He’d seen this before. The energy. The edge. Like Game 5 against the Knicks in ‘94. But tonight? It wasn’t him or Tyrese. It was something bigger. The torch had truly passed—and Indiana basketball, all of it—NBA and WNBA—was rising together.
In the fourth, the Thunder made a push. SGA hit back-to-back stepbacks. But with under two minutes left, Haliburton stood courtside, calling out defensive switches like a coach possessed. And on the floor, Nembhard delivered—stripping Jalen Williams, pushing the ball to Siakam for the dagger slam.
Final: Pacers 113, Thunder 102.
9-0 with Caitlin Clark in the house.
On the postgame show, Shaq laughed. “Man… they got the Big 3 not on the floor but in the seats. Tyrese, Reggie, and the Queen of Indiana herself—Caitlin Clark! They can’t lose when she’s there!”
And the legend grew.
In Indy that night, every fan knew the truth: this wasn’t just a men’s game or a women’s game anymore. It was Indiana’s game.
And the Pacers, fueled by their sideline Big 3, were writing basketball’s new chapter—one unstoppable win at a time.
