Too many free throws in the NBA Finals? Lou Williams' hot take before Pacers vs Thunder Game 5
ByShivam Pratap Singh
Jun 17, 2025 03:10 AM IST
The NBA Finals Game 4 went way over the line with as many as 71 free throws combined between the Pacers and the Thunder.
The NBA Finals Game 5 is here, but there is a debate about the number of free throws that the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder have gotten.
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) battles Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8), forward Chet Holmgren (7) and =t for the rebound during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series.(AP)
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) battles Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8), forward Chet Holmgren (7) and =t for the rebound during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series.(AP)
The NBA Finals Game 4 went way over the line with as many as 71 free throws combined between the Pacers and the Thunder. Many fans have complained that this year's NBA Finals have seen too many free throws and easy points, but former NBA shooting guard Lou Williams doesn't agree.
According to Williams, the NBA Finals, especially Game 4, saw a lot of physical and aggressive basketball, so free throws became a way to earn something.
“There were a lot of free throws shot. But also, there was a lot of physical and aggressive basketball being played. Again, we have a conversation about finally these teams don't like each other, you know, getting tired of seeing the same guys over and over every other day. And it started showing in this game 4. Fouls started to get a little harder, it started to get a little chippy, everything had to be earned and you gotta earn it from the free throw line,” Williams said on the Run It Back podcast.
The former Los Angeles Lakers player said that everyone should either stop complaining about the free throws or stop saying that fouls aren't being called.
“We gotta pick a side of this argument. At one point, we were complaining about a 'free throw merchant' and then we're complaining about fouls not being called," he said.
NBA Finals status before Game 5
The back-and-forth in the NBA Finals before Game 5 has been constant. Game 1 went to Indiana, so Oklahoma City had to bounce back in Game 2. Indiana reclaimed the series lead in Game 3, only to see Oklahoma City answer yet again in Game 4, knotting the series 2-2.
And now, Game 5. The swing game, as some call it. The winner on Monday night — Pacers vs. Thunder in Oklahoma City — will take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals, moving one win away from hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Odds are, the Game 5 winner will go on to win the series. It's happened that way 23 times in the previous 31 instances of the NBA Finals being tied at two games apiece.
So, who will win NBA Finals Game 5?
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