The Pacers scored 249 points in the bench finals, and the three shots on the bench averaged 34.1 points per game

The smoke of G7 in the 2025 NBA Finals has not yet been lit, and the Indiana Pacers' bench has written history in advance - According to statistics from the US media Hoop Muse, their substitute scores have accumulated 249 points so far in the finals this season, surpassing the 232 points of the Spurs in 2014, becoming the team with the highest total substitute score in the finals in NBA history!

What's even more terrifying is that their efficiency is amazing, with a shooting percentage of 49%, a three-point shooting percentage of 39%, and an average of 41.5 points per game, completely crushing the Thunder substitute group 18.3 points. The "Three Masters of Bench" composed of Toppin, McConaughey and Mathering averaged 34.1 points per game.

As the number one scorer on the bench, Obi Toppin averaged 12.8 points and shot 42.3% from three-pointers. The former dunk king made 4 of 7 three-pointers in the finals, scoring a team-high 20 points, becoming one of the key factors for the Pacers' reversal.

TJ McConaughey, this undraft who is only 1.85 meters tall, uses his fighting spirit to explain what "small man and big energy" is. So far in the finals, he averaged 11.3 points, 4.1 assists and 2.7 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 51.9%. In the game of G3, he became the first substitute player in NBA history to contribute 5 assists and 5 steals in a single game in the Finals, while G6 scored 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.

Benedict Mathering, the 22-year-old Canadian star, scored 27 points in G3, becoming the third highest substitute in the history of the Finals, second only to Sam Kassel in 1995 (31 points) and Fred Brown in 1978 (30 points).

Although the average 10.5 points per game seems average, his explosive power is extremely strong, and G3's 75% shooting percentage set a record for substitutes in the finals. The Thunder's bench performed poorly in the finals, averaging only 18.3 points per game, in sharp contrast to the Pacers' 41.5 points. If Topin, McConaughey and Mathering continue to output stably in the G7 decisive battle, the Pacers are very likely to replicate the "civilian counterattack" myth of the Pistons in 2004.

Historical data shows that since 1980, the teams with scored more than 45 points in a single game in the finals have a probability of winning the championship as high as 89%. The Pacers have achieved this feat three times (G3 substitute 49 points, G5 substitute 42 points, and G6 substitute 34 points).