Berry Tramel
NBA Finals
Best-of-seven: Series tied 3-3
Game 1: Indiana 111, OKC 110
Game 2: OKC 123, Indiana 107
Game 3: Indiana 116, OKC 107
Game 4: OKC 111, Indiana 104
Game 5: OKC 120, Indiana 109
Game 6: Indiana 108, OKC 91
Game 7: Indiana at OKC, 7 p.m. Sunday. ABC, KYAL-97-1
INDIANAPOLIS — Some critics said the Thunder wasn’t ready to win the NBA championship. So far, the critics are right.
And Thursday night, they absolutely were right.
With a chance to bring the O’Brien Trophy home to Oklahoma, the Thunder laid an all-time dud. The Indiana Pacers staved off elimination with a commanding 108-91 victory to even the NBA Finals at three games each.
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Game 7 is at 7 p.m. Sunday back in Paycom Center. We’ll see if the Thunder shows for that one.
Pay no regard to the final score. It was much worse. This was a one-sided affair. This was a Game 6 that debunked the theory that the Thunder is the superior team. This was a game won by the hungry over the befuddled.
The Thunder played with none of the defensive force that has come to define its dominating season. At halftime, the Thunder was outshooting Indiana (44.7%-44.2%) yet trailed 64-42.
The Pacers had committed just two turnovers, and the Thunder had no steals. That’s like no salt in the sea. No grease on the onion burger. Steals have fueled this remarkable Thunder season, yet Indiana largely was left to run its offense like an AAU summer team.
Meanwhile, the Thunder offense was full of algae. As stagnant as a Bayou swamp. The Thunder had three first-half assists and 12 first-half turnovers.
The one-on-one exploits of Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander provided almost all the Thunder offense. Williams finished with 16 points, all in the first half, when he made six of 10 shots. SGA finished with 21 points, 15 in the first half, when he made six of 11 shots. In the first half, the rest of the squad combined for 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
Indiana led 64-42 at halftime, then the Thunder went scoreless the first five minutes of the second half, finally scoring on an Isaiah Hartenstein dunk, by which time everyone outside Indiana had turned over to NetFlix or “Gunsmoke” reruns.
This was a massively disappointing performance for a team that dominated much of Game 5 and put itself in position to close out the Pacers, especially with Indiana star point guard Tyrese Haliburton suffering from a strained calf. But Haliburton was quite effective; he finished with 14, 12 of them in the first half, and only two turnovers.
Nothing went right for OKC. Through three quarters, which is all that matters, Indiana led 90-60, the Thunder missed 17 of 20 3-point shots, Indiana outscored the Thunder 31-6 in bench points, 19-5 in fast-break points and 12-4 in second-chance points.
This was the biggest dud since Y2K.
It’s too easy to say the Thunder wasn’t ready to play, but it sure looked like the Thunder wasn’t ready to play. Indiana had no interest in its season ending, and the same could be said for the Thunder.
It’s no crime to lose a Game 6 on the road. But to lose like this, and embolden an underdog into believing it can pull off a Game 7 road upset, is inexcusable.
Was the Thunder’s youth and inexperience the cause? I don’t see how. SGA played in the playoffs SIX YEARS AGO. Luguentz Dort and SGA were in a Thunder Game 7 FIVE YEARS AGO. Hartenstein is a veteran. Alex Caruso has won a championship.
Inexperience is a flimsy excuse. We debunked when the critics said the Thunder was too young. No reason to buy into it now.
The Thunder came to Gainbridge Fieldhouse not ready for the moment. Not ready for the stage. Not ready for the Pacers. Not ready to win an NBA championship. Else the critics will be right, and can’t be proven wrong for at least 360something days.
berry.tramel@tulsaworld.com
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