As the old adage goes, "role players play better at home." The Pacers were direct beneficiaries in their 116-107 win over the Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

With the NBA Finals in Indianapolis for the first time in 25 years, the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd was electrified by the contributions of veteran reserve point guard T.J. McConnell. The 33-year-old almost immediately made his impact felt, doing the little things that have set him apart during his 10-year NBA career.

Despite a standout career at Duquesne and Arizona, McConnell went undrafted in 2015, spending the first four years of his career in Philadelphia before signing with Indiana in 2019.

McConnell is the Pacers' second-longest tenured player, and his performance was that of a player familiar with the expectations held by Indiana's basketball-obsessed fanbase.

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Here's more on McConnell's performance and his unique path to becoming the heart and soul of the Pacers' second unit.

T.J. McConnell Game 3 stats vs. Thunder

McConnell was an instant spark plug off the Pacers' bench, turning in six points, four assists, and three steals in nine minutes in the first half. He added four more points and two more steals in the second half and Indiana pulled away for a thrilling win to take a 2-1 series lead.

• 10 points
• 1 rebound
• 5 assists
• 5 steals
• 2 turnover
• 3-of-8 field goal shooting
• 4-of-4 free throw shooting

T.J. McConnell Game 3 highlights

The impact was almost immediate, with McConnell turning in his trademark pick-off play to set the crowd ablaze.

McConnell'd in the NBA Finals 😈

T.J. McConnell feeds it to Aaron Nesmith for two and immediately picks off the inbound pass. pic.twitter.com/7w8tWmIaRS

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 12, 2025

Shortly after, McConnell got fouled going to the hoop, leading to a classic reaction from basketball coach father.

TJ McConnell gets fouled and his father is loving it 🥲pic.twitter.com/sSUtUCuK6c

— SportsPostingWs (@TheSportsBrawls) June 12, 2025

McConnell closed out the Pacers' 40-point second quarter with a 13-foot fadeaway that secured Indiana's first halftime lead in the series.

LIFTS SHOOTS AND SCORES

T. J. McConnell finishes off the strong 2nd quarter for the Pacers who lead by 4 at the half@marckestecher . https://t.co/tZ7JDFjMwE pic.twitter.com/P46KTQ2qJQ

— ESPN Radio (@ESPNRadio) June 12, 2025

For good measure, McConnll turned in another one of his Iconic inbound steals to fuel a run early in the fourth quarter.

"I've seen some of the chatter on social media about on-court decals. People don't realize, they went away a decade ago. There were claims, Kendrick knows...they were slippery...we're back to adding them virtually."

Adam Silver on no on-court decals during the NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/YRhxLaR0TK

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 12, 2025

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T.J. McConnell family tree

Sister: Megan McConnell

McConnell's younger sister, Megan, is a rookie for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.

Like her brother did initially, Megan played collegiately at Duquesne, where she was a three-time All-Atlantic 10 performer. Megan earned First Team all-conference honors for her efforts in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Megan went undrafted in the 2025 WNBA Draft, but she earned an invite to Phoenix's training camp in April. While she was waived at the end of camp, she was brought back in June and made her WNBA debut on June 3.

The basketball-playing McConnells are supportive of one another, and they recently wore each other's jerseys to their respective games.

Dad: Tim McConnell

McConnell is named after his father, Tim, who was a longtime coach at Chartiers Valley High School in Bridgeville, Penn.

Tim coached T.J. in high school and later was tasked with the development of Megan, and, according to T.J., was much lighter with his instruction of Megan. Tim retired from coaching after amassing 662 wins, including the record for fastest coach in WPIAL history to 500 wins and the longest win streak (64 games) in WPIAL girls basketball history.