NBA FINALS: THUNDER VS. PACERS

June 7, 2025

Aaron Nesmith

Indiana Pacers

Practice Day

Q. You guys have been great at avoiding points off turnovers. How did you guys do that?

AARON NESMITH: Just worry about the next play. If we turn the ball over, just get back on defense load it up and get a stop.

Q. Who do you think from the Pacers' roster would be a great head coach?

AARON NESMITH: Probably Ty. Just the way he reads the game.

Q. On film, anything you liked or didn't necessarily like from Thursday?

AARON NESMITH: Obviously the turnovers. And what he said -- being able to limit their points off turnovers. Our rebounding I thought was really good for a team that crashes as much as they do. I think those few takeaways are really good for us.

Q. This Pacers team obviously has been known for its comebacks, but on the other hand, the Thunder have been known for coming back from a loss and hitting opponents hard. How do you mentally prepare for them in that aspect?

AARON NESMITH: Even though we were able to win the game, I think none of us were really happy about our performance. So I think that's really good for our mindset going into Game 2 and keeping that as an edge and not being caught off-guard by their aggressiveness.

Q. You guys have not lost back-to-back games since March 10. What's the key?

AARON NESMITH: I think it's a mindset thing. Like you said, know what we did well and didn't do well in the game and coming into Game 2 with a chip on our shoulder. We did win the game, but we did a lot of things that really put us in a position to lose the game.

Q. What's the impact of Myles in the locker room?

AARON NESMITH: He's one of our leaders. He is one of the heads of the snake on our team. He helps keep us composed, helps us keep the main thing the main thing.

Q. How do you keep yourself composed when you get a game like this, being down for that long and then still win on the road?

AARON NESMITH: We just put ourselves in a position that we didn't want to be in. Just understanding that and understanding how much better we can be. We're just looking forward to the opportunity to show that we can play a 48-minute game the way we did the second half.

Q. How much of a security blanket is the three-point shooting at the level you guys can do it? The number of guys who can hit them, the way you can spread the floor. In a game like that, even with mistakes and even facing the deficit, you know have the ability to eat up ground?

AARON NESMITH: We talk about letting it fly, shooting with confidence, trusting your process. Whenever we are down like that and the game calls for it, just let them go. We have a lot of guys that are able to shoot the ball and shoot the ball with confidence and let it fly.

Q. What about your defense was able to reduce Oklahoma City's ball movement in Game 1? That seemed like a pretty big factor.

AARON NESMITH: Just film, preparation, making them a little bit uncomfortable. Yeah, I'm not going to say too much.

Q. The experience of your coaching staff, people have been talking about it from Game 1. How vital is that to the group, having guys who have been here and done that?

AARON NESMITH: Our coaching staff, we have a phenomenal staff. We have guys who have been around for so long, seen so much and know so much about the game. They have done a really good job of letting everybody know what their strengths are, weaknesses are and catering to each individual player to the best of our abilities.