OKLAHOMA CITY — Paycom Center will look much the same Sunday night. Familiar court. Familiar uniforms. Same players as we’ve seen for a fortnight of basketball in these Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals.
But downtown OKC is going to feel different. The tension will be high. The pressure mighty.
Game 7, an NBA Finals Game 7, the ultimate Game 7, will arrive, and it’s going to be unlike any Thunder game in history. Heck, unlike any Pacer game in history.
The NBA makes its periodic cycle of replicating the NCAA championship game, with a one-game shootout for, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was caught saying by ESPN cameras Thursday night, “all the marbles.”
“One game for everything you ever dreamed of,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing. It's that simple.”
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Oklahoma City Thunder entertainers hold flags outside Paycom Center prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Nate Billings, AP
The biggest game in Thunder history meets the biggest game in Pacers history, as each seeks its first NBA championship (sorry, the Seattle SuperSonics 1979 title doesn’t count in this discussion).
And Paycom is going to drip with drama. Every basket will evoke elevated emotion from Thunder fans. Every slight scoring run either will enrapture Loud City or drop a cloud of dread over the loudest arena in the NBA.
The Thunder’s Chet Holmgren called Game 7 a great opportunity, which is fitting. The Game 6 debacle back in Indianapolis, a 108-91 Pacer rout that was a 30-point game after three quarters, was lost opportunity for the Thunder.
“You could ask every team in the NBA,” Holmgren said. “Every team would take this opportunity to take this chance. We're no different. It's on us to go out there and make the most of it.”
The Thunder has played five Game 7’s in its history. First-round survival of Memphis in 2014 and first-round failure against Houston in 2020. Western Conference semifinal victories over Memphis in 2011 and Denver a month ago. A West finals loss to Golden State in 2016.
All three Thunder victories were in OKC. Both Thunder losses were away from home (2020 was in the Orlando bubble).
That’s not atypical. This will be the 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history. Home teams are 15-4. Homecourt in this series has been profound, though each team has scratched out a road win.
The role players have been much better at home.
Same with the teams. At Paycom Center in this series, the Thunder has led for 136:57 and trailed for 2:55. Homecourt advantage is a blessed thing.
“We're playing the best team on the planet,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “They have proven that the entire year, and we have got to play at such a high level for us to have a chance.”
The Pacers are capable, as you saw Thursday night. But every game is a new game, and this new game is in OKC.
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Said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander about Game 7: “If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing. It's that simple.” Michael Conroy, AP
In the last 47 years, only one road team has won an NBA Finals Game 7, LeBron James’ 2016 Cavaliers, who rallied from a 3-games-to-1 deficit to beat the mighty Warriors.
Noteworthy that it took a LeBron to overcome homecourt advantage in the season-deciding game. The game that absolutely will end with a trophy presentation.
The other Game 7 winners over nearly five decades celebrated at home: Heat over Spurs 2013, Lakers over Celtics 2010, Spurs over Piston 2005, Rockets over Knickerbockers 1994, Lakers over Pistons 1988, Celtics over Lakers 1984.
The Thunder is a big favorite for no other reason than homecourt, that decrepit performance in Game 6 notwithstanding.
“It’s a chance at history,” the Thunder’s Alex Caruso said. “We would have rather liked to win it in four, but if you are telling me I got one game with a chance to win the title, I’d take that at the beginning of the year. That’s my mindset. We have an opportunity Sunday to go out and win a championship.”
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Fans celebrate after Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort makes a 3-pointer in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Nate Billings, AP file
Indeed a great opportunity. And in Oklahoma City, which on Sunday will be the sports capital of the world. From Europe to Asia to Africa, from Oregon to Florida to Pennsylvania, sporting eyes will be tuned to Thunder-Pacers.
“To play to the last day possible of the season, Game 7, you dream about that as a kid,” said Indiana’s T.J. McConnell. “So I know we have to be ready for the challenge.”
The upstart Pacers have proven to be a worthy foe. Long gone is the notion that Indiana is a massive underdog. The Thunder was projected to win this series quickly and easily. The Thunder has won 83 games this season. Only three teams ever have won more.
But this series hasn’t been and it hasn’t been easy. If the Thunder wins, it will be well-earned.
And a rare team gets a rare game. A Game 7 for all the marbles. Get ready. It’s going to feel unlike any game ever to grace Paycom Center.
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Oklahoma City Thunder fans cheer during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA FInals in Oklahoma City. Kyle Phillips, AP
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Oklahoma City Thunder fans watch warmups prior to Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City. Nate Billings, AP
berry.tramel@tulsaworld.com
“One game for everything you ever dreamed of.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
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