The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the road on Friday night as they take on the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Oklahoma City enters Friday’s contest in aa must-win situation after losing Game 3 on Wednesday night as they try to avoid falling down 3-1 in the series.
Of course, only one team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals and that team was the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love who were able to complete the comeback against the Golden State Warriors.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Mar 12, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket beside Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during the first quarter at Paycom Center.
© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Because of this, the Thunder are in a must-win situation as they try to tie up the series before returning home to Oklahoma City on Monday night for Game 5.
The good news for the Thunder is that they enter Game 4 with a clean injury report as the only player listed on it is Nikola Topic, who has missed his entire rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL.
This is great news for the Thunder as their core, lead by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, is healthy and they will need them to play at a high level if they want to steal Game 4 on the road.
Of course, Oklahoma City struggled with turnovers and missed free throws in Game 3 and their stars also looked gassed in the second half and they will now look to bunce back on Friday.
Pacers center Myles Turner (33) blocks the shot of Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7).
Pacers center Myles Turner (33) blocks the shot of Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7).
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
On the other side, the Pacers may be without one of their key players as Myles Turner has been dealing with an illness.
Despite his illness, Turner is off the injury report and is expected to play in Game 4 on Friday, which is massive news for Indiana.
Indiana has ruled out Jarace Walker, who will miss his fourth consecutive contest due to an ankle sprain while Isaiah Jackson has also been ruled out as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles.
Fans can catch Friday’s Game 4 matchup between the Thunder and Pacers at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.