Pacers Enforcer James Johnson Hilariously Got Ejected in Two Minutes of Garbage Time

A perfect moment to end the Pacers' Game 6 win.
Indiana Pacers forward Johnson reacts after being ejected from the game during the second half of game six of the 2025 NBA Finals.
Indiana Pacers forward Johnson reacts after being ejected from the game during the second half of game six of the 2025 NBA Finals. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

James Johnson doesn't play much for the Indiana Pacers. But when he does, he makes his presence felt.

He entered the game with three minutes left in the Pacers' huge 108-91 win in Thursday's Game 6 of the NBA Finals to force a winner-take-all Game 7 with the Oklahoma City Thunder. His time on the court didn't last long, though, as he was ejected with just under a minute to play after an aggressive body shove on Thunder guard Dillon Jones.

Johnson was called for a technical foul and was ejected from the game after the play. Two garbage time minutes, zero points, zero rebounds, zero assists and one ejection—hang that box score in the rafters at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The 16-year veteran has averaged just 3.1 minutes in his 12 appearances for the Pacers this season. He sits at the end of the rotation and serves as a strong locker room presence for the young, wildly successful group. And maybe more importantly—someone that other teams don't want to mess with.

Toward the end of a long career, we may have just saw Johnson's last minutes on an NBA floor. And he sure made we remember them.

The Pacers now travel back to Oklahoma City for Game 7 against the Thunder Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. If Indiana wins, Johnson would secure his first NBA title.


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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.