INDIANAPOLIS — Pacers fans exited Gainbridge Fieldhouse disappointed on Friday night, a stark contrast from the ruckus Game 3 crowd. At least they’re guaranteed another chance to watch their team in person—and perhaps even witness their franchise’s first title.
The Thunder defeated the Pacers, 111–104, in Game 4 to even up the 2025 NBA Finals at 2–2 and reclaim homecourt advantage. The win means that after the two teams play Game 5 in Oklahoma City on Monday, they will return to Indianapolis for Game 6 on Thursday.
It’s the first time the NBA will have at least a six-game NBA Finals since 2022, despite originally being projected as one of the most lopsided in league history. That’s a big win for the NBA and its broadcast partner, ESPN, amid historically low ratings for the 2025 NBA Finals.
The first three games of the NBA Finals have averaged 8.95 million viewers, down 23% from last year (ratings for Game 4 should be released by Nielsen in the coming days). It’s one of the lowest-rated Finals in history, trailing even the COVID-impacted 2021 Finals between the Bucks and Suns (8.98 million).
But a longer series almost guarantees a significant viewership lift.
Since 2000, 14 of the 25 NBA Finals series have gone at least six games. In those series, Game 5 has seen a 14.7% lift compared to the first four games of the series. Game 6 delivers nearly a 25% viewership lift vs. the first five games with the help of the “close-out” game bump.
A seven-game series is also still on the table. There have only been four since the start of the century, and they have averaged a 65% increase in viewers compared to the average of the other six games.
That includes the seven-game finals series in 2005, which could not pass the 11 million viewer threshold through its first four games. Games 5 and 6 delivered at least 13 million viewers each, and Game 7 drew 19 million.
That series featured the Spurs and the Pistons, which, like the Thunder and Pacers, are two of the league’s smallest markets.
The last Game 7 in the NBA finals was in 2016 between the LeBron James-led Cavaliers and Steph Curry-led Warriors, which drew 31 million viewers. That’s the most-watched NBA game since the 1998 Bulls defeated the Jazz in Game 6, Michael Jordan’s last game with Chicago.
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