NBA FINALS: THUNDER VS. PACERS

June 11, 2025

Alex Caruso

Oklahoma City Thunder

Game 3: Postgame

Q. You guys have done a really good on Haliburton, keeping him out of the lane and uncomfortable. What did they do differently tonight?

ALEX CARUSO: They got into a couple of sets that they've had success with. And then he was a little more aggressive going left, more naturally right-hand dominant. But it was even more than Tyrese. It was T.J. a lot on the second unit. Mathurin got there pretty much when he wanted to. Just collectively as a group we didn't do it, like I said, consistently enough.

Q. How much did Mathurin impact this game tonight for Indiana?

CARUSO: That’s kind of what he does. He's a scorer. We let him get to his fastball for the night, which is impact the game by scoring the basketball. Granted, he made a couple of tough ones, but we probably didn't make it tough on him to start initially. Then he gets comfortable and now all of a sudden, he's making a couple of shots that percentages are in our favor.

Q. You've been in a 2-1 hole before – losing in Denver – and you responded. Does it feel like that again?

CARUSO: It's the Finals, so it's a little different here. You're probably just slightly more frustrated with it. You just put in so much effort and so much into the game to not come away with a win when you have a chance to, especially on the road, it definitely stings a little. That's part of the Playoffs; that's part of the Finals.

This competition is one of the best in the world because you have to go out there and earn it. Every series leading up to this one, we have. So we got another opportunity to come out in Game 4 and earn a win.