The Pacers won’t go away, and neither will Lionel Messi

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Good morning! Throw a knuckleball today.

While You Were Sleeping: The undeniable Pacers persist

In sports, we honor perseverance. Defying the odds. Heroic upsets. They form the bedrock of our fandoms, and they follow a familiar rhythm. We know all those stories. This Indiana Pacers team, despite hitting all those benchmarks, feels markedly different. 

What else is there to say about these Pacers? We have readied ourselves for them to peter out in the last three rounds. We gave them respectful applause after losing Game 5 in Oklahoma City to go down 3-2 in these finals, with superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton ailing. It was a great run, fellas. 

Then last night happened: 

Haliburton, nursing a calf strain, played a gritty 23 minutes, scoring 14 points and ending up plus-25. He looked hobbled at times, but the moments were fleeting. For the most part, he, well, looked like a healthy Haliburton.
The Pacers’ defense went nuts. Thunder players not named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 70 total points. OKC shot 42 percent from the field and 8-of-30 from 3-point range. A game after scoring 40 points, Jalen Williams was a minus-40. 

Pacers 108, Thunder 91. The lead reached 30 by the fourth quarter, too, and starters were pulled. This was a flat-out blowout. Just … how? 

Two images that will stick with me before Game 7:

Pascal Siakam locked in for Game 6 👀 pic.twitter.com/C32bk4p0h9

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 20, 2025

Was Pascal Siakam summoning a higher power? A mystic force? Whatever came through the Ouija board worked, because what else can you call this:

OH MY GOODNESS THIS PACERS SEQUENCE 🤯

HALIBURTON STEAL.HALIBURTON NO-LOOK DIME. SIAKAM SLAM WITH FORCE.

Indy seeking a Game 7 on ABC 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hr7RKcCUbq

— NBA (@NBA) June 20, 2025

Game 7 is Sunday in Oklahoma City. I’m done thinking the Pacers are done, and you should be too. Oh, and the last time the NBA Finals went to Game 7, the road team won.

Things You Need to See: Of course it was Messi

Sure, we waxed plenty yesterday about the Club World Cup and its necessity. It remains a valid worry, which made this kick from Lionel Messi yesterday all the more important:

That is magic from Lionel Messi.

The Argentinian puts Inter Miami in front against Porto with a trademark free kick.

That’s the 69th from outside the penalty box of his career.#FIFACWC

🎥 @DAZNFootballpic.twitter.com/hu2XPvV0kM

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 19, 2025

The cracking free kick from Messi delivered Inter Miami a 2-1 win over Porto, an incredible feat for the MLS side against a European opponent. It also came in front of 30,000 fans in an atmosphere tournament organizers envisioned while creating this competition. 

Even more interesting: There’s plenty of rancor over whether Messi’s outfit should be in this tournament at all. Felipe Cardenas has more on that in his full story from the game. 

Two other soccer notables: 

The USMNT pushed past Saudi Arabia 1-0 last night to make the knockout round of the Gold Cup. Next up: finishing group play with a match against Haiti before the quarterfinals.
Brazilian club Botafogo shocked Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the CWC, marking the second big European defeat of the day. It was also a spicy chapter in some French soccer beef. 

Let’s keep moving:

News to Know

Dodgers say they denied ICEThe Dodgers barred federal immigration officials from accessing grounds outside Dodger Stadium yesterday, the team said in a statement. The authorities’ request came mere hours after news broke that the Dodgers plan to assist immigrant groups affected by the recent ICE raids in Los Angeles. We have more from the scene here.

Juventus’ ‘weird’ White House visitPlayers for Italian side Juventus were surprised yesterday with a trip to the White House, just hours before the team played Al-Ain FC at the Club World Cup in Washington, D.C. Two USMNT players, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, took part in an Oval Office photo op that Weah called “a bit weird.” The team stood behind President Donald Trump as he talked about topics like Iran and transgender athletes. See our full report.

More news

Thanks, Knicks? Houston coach Ime Udoka agreed to a multiyear contract extension days after New York requested to interview him.
Rays pitcher Hunter Bigge left the field on a stretcher after taking a 105 mph foul ball off his face while in the dugout. Full report here.
The Red Sox sent rookie Kristian Campbell down to Triple A after a rough stretch. Reminder that he just signed a $60 million contract.
The NHL offseason is fully underway: Dallas traded Mason Marchment to Seattle last night for two draft picks. Expect more in the coming days, too.
Alexander Bublik defeated Jannik Sinner at the Terra Wortmann Open, which broke an incredible — and specific — streak for Sinner.
The Premier League fined Manchester City $1.3 million for late kickoffs. More here.

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What to Watch

📺 MLB: Mets at Phillies7:15 p.m. ET on Apple TV+These are the top two teams in the NL East, which is enough to give it a watch, but also tune in for Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, arguably the league’s best pitcher and a singular character. 

📺 CWC: Flamengo vs. Chelsea2 p.m. ET on TNT/DAZNThis is your best Club World Cup choice today, as it should be a tight match. Chelsea also has tremendous support in the States and remains one of the Premier League’s most interesting teams right now. Plus, Chelsea’s Andrey Santos — who signed with the EPL blueblood from Flamengo rival Vasco de Gama — expects a harsh reception. 

Get tickets to games like these here.

Pulse Picks

The true knuckleballer is dead, as Cody Stavenhagen wrote yesterday. One Tigers prospect with an incredible backstory is trying to revive the tradition. Make time for this today. 

How does Cooper Flagg compare to the top prospects in each of the last 20 years? Sam Vecenie has answers only he could find. The NBA Draft is next week. 

Basketball is seeing a boost in Britain — because of court design. Eduardo Tansley tells us how. 

It’s easy to think the guy who just signed a huge contract feels pretty good about himself. But Sam Darnold thinks he needs to prove himself all over again. 

Want a preview of Mark Walter’s tenure as Lakers majority owner? Andy McCullough and Fabian Ardaya see dollar signs everywhere. 

You know what seems bad? Every vibe in the Rangers building, especially after reading Peter Baugh’s deep dive into this season, which left everyone unhappy. 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our update on Shedeur Sanders’ driving citation. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: The Dodgers/ICE story.

(Top photo: Catherine Ivill / AMA / Getty Images)