Indiana Pacers Remarkable Season Ends with Loss to Thunder

Source: Matthew Stockman / Getty

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK) – For the first time since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are NBA Champions by defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in game seven.

1. First Quarter

For the twenty-third consecutive playoff game, the Indiana Pacers starting lineup featured Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. Oklahoma City used the following starting lineup for the twentieth playoff game: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Chet Holmgren. For the first time on the road in the playoffs, Indiana was able to deliver the first punch. The Pacers went ahead 14-10 after five minutes of play when Haliburton splashed his third three-pointer. OKC came back with an 8-2 run to take an 18-16 lead. Indiana was forced to call a timeout because Haliburton went down with an achilles injury and could not get up. He would not return the rest of the game. Despite the injury, the Pacers hung in there. Their largest deficit following that injury in the first quarter was four points. They would come back and tie the game at 22 when Bennedict Mathurin rebounding his own miss and put it back in. The final three points of the quarter were scored by OKC. After twelve minutes, Indiana trailed 25-22. Haliburton led all players in scoring with 9 points. SGA was OKC’s leading scorer with 8 points. After Haliburton for Indiana, it was Siakam with 7 points leading the way. Indiana shot 38% from the field, 4/8 from three-point range, and 2/3 from the line. The Pacers struggled inside the arc, shooting 4/13 (31%). As for the Thunder, they shot 50% from the field, 2/5 from distance, and 3/4 at the stripe. Alex Caruso was responsible for both triples for OKC.

2. Second Quarter

Indiana started the second quarter with a three from Mathurin to tie the game up. The pacers would take the lead back on the following possession when Siakam made a free throw to break the 25-25 tie. For the next 3:33, the Thunder were in control of the lead. Indiana tied the game at 32 with a Nesmith triple. OKC then pushed its lead to a first half high five points when Cason Wallace connected on a three-pointer in transition. The Pacers would come storming back to tie the game at 40 following T.J. McConnell’s patented pullup jump shot just below the free throw line. Indiana pushed its lead to three points with two foul shots from Siakam and had a chance to further extend it, but Nembhard’s midrange jumper was off. Hartenstein tied the game with a three-point play and then SGA gave his team a two-point lead with two freebies. Nembhard closed the half with a three-pointer to send the Pacers into the locker room with a 48-47 halftime advantage. SGA scored 8 points in the quarter, bringing his total in the half to 16 points. OKC’s other four starters all had five points each. The Pacers were led by Siakam with 10 points and had four players with at least eight points (including Haliburton). In the half, Indiana shot 42% from the field, 8/16 on threes, and 8/13 from the foul line. For OKC, they shot 41% from the field, 4/18 (22%) from downtown, and 9/13 on free throws.

3. Third Quarter

OKC started the second half with a 9-3 burst to take a 56-51 lead after a Williams layup. Rick Carlisle called a timeout because OKC scored all of its points off offensive rebounds or turnovers. Turner made his first triple of the game to tie the game at 56, but then it was a barrage threes for OKC. It all started with Gilgeous-Alexander hitting one and then Holmgren and Williams followed suit. Before the Pacers could blink, they were down 65-56 with 7:16 left in the third quarter. The Pacers started chipping away at their deficit and were within four points with 3:54 to go in the period after ten consecutive points from McConnell. OKC delivered another punch by going on a 7-0 surge to take its first double figure lead following a Williams layup. Indiana went down as much as thirteen in the quarter but went into the fourth quarter trailing 81-68. McConnell scored 12 of the Pacers 20 points in the quarter. OKC was paced by Williams with 9 points in the period. What killed the Pacers in the third quarter were turnovers and second chance points. OKC scored 18 points of Indiana’s 8 turnovers and 9 second chance points on 4/6 shooting. Indiana shot 47% from the field, 2/6 on threes, and 2/2 on free throws. As for OKC, they shot 50% from the field, 5/13 from three-point range, and 1/2 from the free throw line.

4. Fourth Quarter

Issues just started snowballing for the Pacers in the fourth quarter because of the Thunder intense defensive pressure. It took Indiana 4:31 to get on the scoreboard. During that drought, OKC scored nine points to get ahead 90-68 after a free throw from Holmgren. Indiana’s first scoring came from Siakam to jump start a small burst. The Pacers went from down twenty-two to down fourteen points after four foul shots from Mathurin. Indiana did not stop there either. It felt like the Thunder were feeling the pressure of being on the verge of winning their first championship since moving from Seattle to OKC. Nembhard drilled a thirty-foot three with 2:32 left in the game to make it a 94-84 game. However, the hole Indiana dug itself in was just too deep. The Thunder were able to make their free throws down the stretch and kept allowing the Pacers to score two-point shots instead of getting any threes up. OKC wins the NBA Championship by defeating Indiana 103-91.

5. Top Performers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (29p, 12a, 5r, 2b, 1s), Jalen Williams (20p, 4r, 4a, 2s), Chet Holmgren (18p, 8r), Alex Caruso (10p, 3r, 3s, 1b), and Cason Wallace (10p, 2r, 3s). For Indiana, Bennedict Mathurin (24p, 13, 3a, 2s), T.J. McConnell (16p, 6r, 3a, 1s), Pascal Siakam (16p, 4r, 2a, 1s, 1b), and Andrew Nembhard (15p, 6a, 5r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

Indiana finished the playoffs 15-8 and 65-40 on the season
- Indiana is now 1-8 when scoring under 110 points
Indiana finishes 7-5 on the road in the playoffs and 27-25 on the season
Indiana is 4-7 all-time in Game 7s, 3-7 all-time on the road
Indiana turned the ball over 25, 15, 23, and 21 times at Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City became the 7th different champion in the last 7 NBA Finals
Oklahoma City finished the playoffs 16-7 and 84-21 on the season
Oklahoma City finishes 11-2 at home in the playoffs and 46-8 on the season
Oklahoma City is the 2nd youngest championship team in NBA history
Aaron Nesmith’s 3 points were the fewest in the NBA Finals and tied fewest in a game this postseason
Aaron Nesmith fouled out 3 times in the series
Alex Caruso has the most steals off the bench in a series in NBA Finals history with 17
Bennedict Mathurin scored 20+ points in
Bennedict Mathurin recorded his first career playoff double-double
- 9th overall on the season
Chet Holmgren’s 5 blocks are the most blocks ever in a game seven of the NBA Finals
Myles Turner scored under 10 points in 3 games during the NBA Finals after only doing so twice in the previous three series
Pascal Siakam recorded his 3rd double-double of the playoffs, 2nd in the NBA Finals
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his 5th double-double of the playoffs
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 12 assists are a playoff career high
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led his team in scoring in 19 of the 23 playoff games
- Aaron Wiggins 21 points in game one versus Memphis
- Jalen Williams 32 points in game three versus Denver
- Jalen Williams 26 points in game three versus Indiana
- Jalen Williams 40 points in game five versus Indiana
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was tabbed as the NBA Finals MVP
- First time in 25 years that the regular season MVP was the Finals MVP
- First Canadian to ever win the Finals MVP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished the season:
- All-Star Starter
- First Team All-NBA
- Scoring Champion
- Regular Season MVP
- Western Conference MVP
- NBA Finals MVP
T.J. McConnell finished the series averaging 10.7 points per game