Indianapolis. Game 1 ended in a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer. Game 2 was a comfortable win. Game 3 brought another defeat and a 2-1 series deficit.

It’s not the ideal script for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, but it's a familiar one. As the top seed in these playoffs, the Thunder have been in this position before and battled back.

Their resilience will once again be put to the test after the Indiana Pacers defeated them 116-107 on Wednesday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Finals. Game 4 is set for Friday night in Indianapolis.

“I thought it was an uncharacteristic night in a lot of ways for us,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We’ve got to learn from it and get back to being ourselves in Game 4. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a much better chance.”

Game 3 was far from Oklahoma City’s best effort. The Thunder squandered a fourth-quarter lead for the second time in the series, committed costly turnovers that led to 21 Pacers points, and were outscored 49-18 by Indiana’s bench.

“We’ll go over the film, it wasn’t all bad,” Daigneault said. “But we’ve got to play our style and impose our will for more of the 48 minutes if we want to win on the road.”

The series so far closely mirrors the Thunder’s second-round matchup with the Denver Nuggets:

— In Game 1 of that series, Aaron Gordon hit a late 3-pointer to steal a win in Oklahoma City. In Game 1 of the Finals, Tyrese Haliburton hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left to lift the Pacers to victory, also in OKC.
— Game 2 in both series saw the Thunder bounce back with convincing wins.
— Game 3 of each series marked the opponent’s first home game. Denver and Indiana both rallied from behind to win and go up 2-1.

The Thunder recovered from that deficit to eliminate the Nuggets. Now, they’ll need to do it again — this time with the championship on the line.

“I wouldn’t say now is the time for emotions,” Thunder forward Chet Holmgren said. “You’ve got to block that out and focus on what’s in front of us. We’ve got a great opportunity, and the good news is there’s another game coming: Game 4.”

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