Three Things I Noticed in Game 3

Hit the jump for the Game 3 edition of Three Things I Noticed, starring perfect passes, run-outs, and lefty drives.

Tyrese Haliburton, one perfect pass

It almost feels like the series has been building to this pass.

Especially during this game, the Thunder bigs were playing too far back on Haliburton's (and Bennedict Mathurin's, and everyone else's) pick and rolls for most of the night.

Here, Chet Holmgren finally gets up a little bit higher on the floor on the double screen, which leaves Myles Turner open rolling down the middle of the lane while Chet recovers. That split-second of Turner being open holds Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his spot on the block, which allows Haliburton to throw it over the top of the defense to Aaron Nesmith for a three directly at the break of the arc. Just beautiful, beautiful stuff all around.

Speaking of that deep drop... yikes! The Thunder just kept gifting pull-up and driving opportunities to Indiana's ball handlers coming out of screes. In the second half, OKC played a drop 17 times and yielded 1.36 points per possession directly out of the pick and roll and 1.53 points per possession overall on those plays, via GeniusIQ tracking. Not ideal, folks.

Obi Toppin, speed demon

Especially against a halfcourt defense as good as Oklahoma City's, it's important to take advantage of whatever run-out opportunities you get. Toppin collected a few of them in the first half, and not just with his own baskets.

Whenever he's on the floor, Toppin is almost always going to be the fastest big man out there. And the Pacers are almost always going to be better when he puts that speed to good use. He, along with T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin, helped change the energy of the game for the Pacers.

Jalen Williams, to the left

J-Dub started off the night having a really rough game, just trying to do way too much. By the end of the night, things had gone much better for him. I think he was particularly effective getting to his left hand on the draft, with nothing better exemplifying that than two jumpers he nailed over Aaron Nesmith that looked like they could've been clones of each other.

That spin move away from the screen that he used on the latter jumper is something he went to several times throughout the game with great success, and twice he did it moving back toward his left hand.

And finally, J-Dub's one perfect pass came on a pick and roll in the left side of the floor where he whipped it with one hand across the court to a cutting Chet Holmgren for a sick and-one opportunity.