Finals G3 Preview: Alexander Aims to Win Game 3 The Pacers only led by 1 minute and 56 seconds in the first two games

At 8:30 a.m. Beijing time on June 12, the Pacers will face the Thunder at home to start Game 3 of the Finals. In the first two games, both sides won one game each, and the aggregate score was tied 1-1. In the crucial third game, who will win and take the overall lead?

"The goal now is to get a third win," Alexander said after training, "and it's a best-of-three contest." It's like a blank slate, start over – 1-1, 0-0, best of three first. ”

After Haliburton finished the opening game with a thrilling semi-stunner, Alexander led the Thunder to victory in Game 2. The MVP scored 72 points in the first two Finals games, setting an all-time scoring record for the first two games of his career Finals.

Haliburton limped for part of the G2 loss, with the Thunder pressuring him with multiple defenders in an attempt to force the ball into the hands of Siakam or other Pacers offensive points. Haliburton said today that he does have a "calf problem" that affects his form, but it won't affect his home game in G3 — the first time the Pacers have hosted the NBA Finals at home since losing to the Lakers in 2000.

'It's like our sixth man,' Nembhard said, "and it gives us energy and we get together, which is exciting. ”

Pacers coach Carlisle is on the verge of a second NBA championship in his head coaching career, and he's constantly reminding young teams not to be distracted by any pros or cons in the first two games of the series as they embrace home-court advantage.

"Aside from the big score, it doesn't matter what has happened," Carlisle said, "and we have to look forward. ”

The Pacers led by just 0.3 seconds in the opening game, and they only led by 1:56 in the first two games totaling 96 minutes。 The team will be looking to boost morale at home and find a way to limit Alexander. Alexander has two days to prepare since the Thunder's G2 123-107 victory, and he understands that the Pacers may be able to counter him with a fresh defensive strategy.

"The series is full of variables, and it's definitely a tentative process," Alexander said, "but at the same time there are so many tweaks that it's almost impossible to predict how they're going to target you." You just have to be prepared to be as sharp as you can, that's how I see it. ”

Resilience has been a key trait for the Pacers, who have bounced back from four losses in the playoffs (4-0 in Game 2).

Carlisle stressed the need to reduce turnovers while maintaining the impact of the attack. Haliburton had five turnovers in Game 2 (tying a career playoff record). "We're going to do our best to fix that," Carlisle said, "Haliburton has always been great at consistency on the ball, but we're facing a team that has had everybody make mistakes throughout the playoffs." We have to be extremely spatial aware in all our actions and we can't play too cautiously against the Thunder or we'll never be able to score. ”

The Thunder's defensive strategy could continue the same lines of thought in Game 3 as they did in the previous two games until the Pacers prove they can handle the pressure with the ball. Daigneault's tactical changes, almost no one could have guessed.He used more than 700 lineup combinations during the regular season (the most in the league)and find a unique lineup to dominate on the rebounding end in Game 2.

"We're a group ready to play," Jalen Williams said, "and everybody is waiting for an opportunity. We've used so many different lineups throughout the season that no one is surprised when the manager wants to play small and adjust his strategy. ”

Daigneault doesn't think the change is his own credit, and he doesn't worry about the tactics being figured out. The only advantage he wants the Thunder to have late in the game is more possession than their opponents — which, in his opinion, is key to G3's quest to take a 2-1 series lead.

"The overall battle that we're trying to win is a battle for the ball, and that goes in a different way," said Daigneault, "and in the first game we won the ball by forcing the opponent to make mistakes, and that's how we win when we play small; In the second game, we were better on rebounding, which is an advantage in playing big men. We have flexibility and every game is different. ”

List of injuries and illnesses

Thunder: Nikola Topic is out

Pacers: Isaiah Jackson, Jareth Walker are out

ESPN Predicts G3 Win Percentage:Thunder 55.2%, Pacers 44.8%