INDIANAPOLIS — Backup guards Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell helped Indiana’s bench break out with 49 points as the Pacers topped the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107 on Wednesday to claim a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Clark and the Fever have been regular attendees at Pacers games during this playoff run when their schedule allows. The Fever don’t play again until Saturday, at home against the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty. Clark has been sidelined with a thigh injury, but it’s possible she returns to the lineup on Saturday.

However, what won the 68 games and got them to the Finals was their defense, and the Pacers torched that for a long stretch of Game 3. Indiana took better shots and capitalized on them, finishing with a 116 offensive rating (9.5 points higher than the Thunder allowed on average during the playoffs coming into the game).

It's been 25 years since Jermaine O'Neal arrived to bolster a Pacers NBA Finals roster. He's hoping this year's run can deliver a much-awaited title.

Michael Parrish, EMSA's Director of Operations, accepted his Indianapolis counterpart Dan O'Donnell's challenge on Tuesday. If the Oklahoma City Thunder wins it all, O'Donnell will have to don a Thunder jersey and take a video in it, and vice versa if the Pacers win.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle admits his point guard is not fully healthy, but he's 100 percent certain Tyrese Haliburton is playing in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.