Jalen Williams believes that the Oklahoma City Thunders' unforced errors were key to their Game 3 defeat to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA finals. 

Williams scored a pull-up 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to give the Thunder a five-point lead in the game, but they were unable to convert their advantage from there. 

Oklahoma were outscored 32-18 in the fourth quarter, the second time this postseason that Indiana have outscored the Thunder by a double-digit margin in the final frame.

That resulted in the Pacers taking a 2-1 series lead after emerging 116-107 victors with another late rally, with Game 4 taking place this Thursday. 

"We just had a lot of unforced errors," Williams conceded after the game. "They capitalised on them because they're a good team."

Oklahoma coach Mark Daigneault echoed the thoughts of Williams, who led the Thunder with 26 points. 

"In the fourth quarter, I just thought they really outplayed us on both ends," Daigneault said.

"I thought they were in character in terms of their physicality, their pressure on defence. Then they were in character in terms of their pace on offence."

Final from Indianapolis pic.twitter.com/xMEBbf0lbp

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 12, 2025

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 24 and Chet Holmgren had 20 for the Thunder, but history now favours the Pacers to clinch the title.

Indeed, in the previous 41 NBA Finals that were tied at a game apiece, the Game 3 winner has gone on to hoist the trophy 33 times - an 80.5% clip. 

The Pacers, meanwhile, improved to 9-1 in clutch games this season, the most clutch wins in a single postseason since the Miami Heat went 11-3 in such games in 2020. 

This is a familiar predicament for the Thunder, who fought back from a 2-1 deficit against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semi-finals, to win in seven games. 

"We have a great opportunity here," said Holmgren. "The great thing is we have another game coming up, Game 4. We can't be thinking about frustration or anything.

"No matter how good it's going, how bad it's going, the focus can't be on your emotions. It has to be on what we're trying to accomplish, the task at hand."

The Thunder's two losses in the Finals have come down to the Pacers landing a flurry of punches at the end, and Holmgren acknowledged that Oklahoma must improve. 

"To win games of this magnitude, at this level, we have to be better," Holmgren added. "We need to close games, close quarters, close possessions.

"It doesn't just come down to the end of the game. We got to figure out how to put ourselves in a better position for the whole 48 minutes."