Sunday’s contest between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers became the 20th time in NBA Finals history that a series has gone to a Game 7. In the prior 19, the margins of victory…or defeat…depending upon the perspective were four, seven, six, three, nine, six, 15, 14, two, two, three, 19, two, one, seven, 17 and four.
The 2024-25 version resulted in a 12-point margin.
Oftentimes in big sporting events, the action early on is tepid, whether it be from feeling out each other, nerves or bad play. None of that was the case for Game 7 between the Pacers and Thunder. Both teams came out on point, playing hard and making tough shots. But it was Tyrese Haliburton who shone brightest early, draining three treys to put Indiana up 14-10 with 6:58 left in the first quarter.
Alex Caruso responded right back with two treys to put the Thunder back up.
Unfortunately, Haliburton injured his right leg a minute later after he took a pass from beyond the arc and immediately tried to explode towards the lane.
End of first quarter: OKC 25 – IND 22
Despite the loss of Haliburton, the Pacers continued to do what they’ve done all playoffs: grind and compete. With 7:14 left in the second quarter, the Thunder led 34-32.
Andrew Nembhard drilled this trey at the end of the half to send Indiana into the locker room with a 48-47 lead.
At halftime, OKC had eight more points in the paint and turned the ball over four fewer times, but Indiana shot 8-of-16 from downtown while OKC was only 4-of-18.
The Thunder came out of halftime with an extra pep in their step, as they crashed the boards and made some tough shots. Oh, there was also a little bit of luck.
After a tough Jalen Williams layup, the Thunder were up, 56-51, with 9:20 left in the third quarter.
Indiana responded once again to tie things up, but the Thunder increased the intensity on defense like a DJ turning the knobs all the way to the right. Lu Dort and Cason Wallace were harassing and extending the pressure out to the halfcourt line and forced a couple of turnovers, which in turn led to some massive treys by the Thunder.
With 7:13 left in the third quarter, OKC now led 65-56. That happened in a blink of an eye.
Then it became T. J. McConnell Time, scoring five straight buckets for Indiana, cutting the deficit to four points.
The Thunder did not wilt, though, as Cason Wallace hit a corner-three and a layup in transition to put the lead back up to nine points.
It’s time to queue up the Britney Spears because he did it again.
Despite the Mc-roics, the Thunder finished out the third quarter with a 81-68 lead.
Indiana did not score for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, as the Thunder defense was suffocating. OKC, meanwhile, scored eight points and led by 21 points with 8:27 left in the game. Indiana wasn’t able to get a clean look on offense while SGA kept collapsing the defense, leading to wide open shots for OKC.
Let me tell you a story, though. One that has been repeated many times before. The Pacers battled back. Bennedict Mathurin was uber-aggressive getting to the rim, converting layups and free throws when fouled.
With 4:45 left in the game, the score was now only 91-79 in favor of OKC.
The Pacers were down 93-81 with three minutes left and had the chance to cut it to 10 or nine points, as they had a fastbreak opportunity. But, Dort hustled back and tapped the ball away from McConnell, which led to Holmgren free throws after he grabbed an offensive rebound.
In the end, OKC was too much, prevailing 103-91.
OKC was +800 to win the championship prior to the start of the season.
Both teams shot poorly, 41.4% and 40.2% from the field, but the Thunder attempted 17 more shots and converted six more. After shooting poorly from downtown to start the game, the Thunder equaled the output by Indiana and finished tied with 11 treys each. Both teams drained 22 free throws.
The defining stat, as it was for most of the series, was the turnovers. Indiana had 23 turnovers which led to 32 points for the Thunder. OKC had only eight turnovers.
OKC was led by the MVP, SGA.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($14,400; 61.25 FPTS) put up 29 points, five rebounds, 12 assists, two blocks and a steal in 40 minutes. He shot 8-of-27 from the field, 2-of-11 from downtown and 11-of-12 from the line. He only had one turnover after giving it away eight times in Game 6.
Chet Holmgren ($8,400; 40.5 FPTS) finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and a steal.
Jalen Williams ($10,800; 35.5 FPTS) shot 7-of-20 from the field, 2-of-7 from downtown and 4-of-6 from the line. He contributed 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Isaiah Hartenstein ($5,200; 25.25 FPTS) only played 18 minutes but put up seven points, nine rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Luguentz Dort ($4,000; 24.25 FPTS) had nine points, seven rebounds and three steals while Alex Caruso ($6,400; 22.75 FPTS) finished with 10 points, three rebounds, a block and three steals. Cason Wallace ($3,000; 19 FPTS) produced 10 points, two rebounds and three steals. This defensive triumvirate was excellent all night, hounding the Pacers guards with pressure while drilling the open shots on offense.
For Indiana:
Bennedict Mathurin ($3,800; 49.75 FPTS) led the way with 24 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals in 33 minutes. He shot 6-of-14 from the field, 2-of-5 from downtown and made all 10 free throws.
Andrew Nembhard ($6,000; 30.25 FPTS) put up 15 points, five rebounds and six assists.
T. J. McConnell ($5,800; 28.5 FPTS) contributed 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in 28 minutes. He converted 8-of-13 from the field.
Pascal Siakam ($10,600; 28.5 FPTS) only shot 5-of-13 from the field, 2-of-5 from downtown and 4-of-7 from the line. He finished with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
After a huge Game 6, Obi Toppin ($5,400; 2.5 FPTS) could only muster two rebounds and an assist in 21 minutes. He missed all four of his shots.
