Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots past Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard for two of his game-high 29 points in Sunday's Game 7 victory.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots past Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard for two of his game-high 29 points in Sunday's Game 7 victory.Nate Billings/Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — Defense has been the calling card for Oklahoma City throughout this NBA season, and that’s what the Thunder leaned on to capture its first NBA title.
Trailing at one at halftime, the Thunder turned up their stout defense, forcing seven turnovers in the third quarter to turn that deficit into a 13-point lead en route to a 103-91 victory in Sunday’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished off his MVP season with 29 points and a playoff-best 12 assists.
“We had 24 minutes to go get it, 24 minutes to finish our season,” said Gilgeous-Alexander post-game. “It was so much fun, it was exactly what I expected.”
Jalen Williams scored 20 and Chet Holmgren had 18 for the Thunder, who were pushed to a Game 7 brink in the NBA Finals — but finished off a season for the ages.
Oklahoma City won 84 games between the regular season and the playoffs, tying the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third-most in any season. Only Golden State (88 in 2016-17) and the Bulls (87 in 2015-16) won more.
The Thunder forced 23 turnovers and had 14 steals, holding Indiana to 41 percent shooting from the floor. The hosts shot worse (40.2%) but had the advantage of 17 more shot opportunities due to the Pacers’ turnovers.
It’s the second championship for the franchise. The Seattle SuperSonics won the NBA title in 1979; the team was moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. There’s nothing in the rafters in Oklahoma City to commemorate that title.
Next October, a championship banner is finally coming. A Thunder banner.
It was not easy to secure.
The Pacers led 48-47 at the half even after losing star guard Tyrese Haliburton to what his father said was an Achilles tendon injury about seven minutes into the game. But they were outscored 34-20 in the third quarter as the Thunder built a 13-point lead and began to run away.
Bennedict Mathurin had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, which still is waiting for its first NBA title. The Pacers — who were 10-15 after 25 games and were bidding to be the first team in NBA history to turn that bad of a start into a championship — had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the series, but they simply didn’t have enough in the end.
Home teams are now 16-4 in NBA Finals Game 7s. And the Thunder became the seventh champion in the last seven seasons, a run of parity like none other in NBA history.
Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was part of the Toronto team that won in 2019, Thunder guard Alex Caruso was part of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won in the pandemic “bubble” in 2020, Milwaukee won in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Pacers forward Thomas Bryant and Denver prevailed in 2023, and Boston won last year’s title.
The Thunder are the ninth franchise to win a title in NBA Commissioner Adam Silver 12 seasons leading the league. His predecessor, David Stern, saw eight franchises win titles in his 30 seasons as commissioner.
No doubt, losing their leader was a mighty blow for the Pacers. Haliburton — who was playing with a strained right calf — tumbled to the court in a heap, immediately began punching the floor in frustration and needed to be helped to the locker room just seven minutes into Game 7.
John Haliburton, Tyrese’s father, told ABC it was an Achilles tendon injury. An MRI is still likely to confirm that, but there are simple tests — without a need for imaging — that doctors typically use to determine whether there is a serious injury to the tendon.
The Pacers quickly ruled out Haliburton for the rest of Game 7 with that they called a lower right leg injury, and replays appeared to show something popping in the back of his leg. The injury happened with 4:55 left in the first quarter.
Haliburton put no weight on the leg and had his face wrapped in towels as he was taken to the Pacers’ locker room for evaluation. Virtually the entire Indiana playing, coaching and medical staff surrounded him on the court once he got hurt.
“It’s a heartbreak, man,” Pacers center Myles Turner told ABC during an in-game interview after the opening period. “It’s unfortunate … but we’ve got his back.”
Haliburton, who had been dealing with leg issues in the series and had the calf issue flare up in Game 5, had been getting all sorts of treatment to get the calf in good enough shape for him to play in the last two games of the NBA Finals. He played well in Game 6, and Game 7 started promisingly — with Haliburton making three deep 3-pointers.
And then he was gone.
John Haliburton told ABC sideline reporter Lisa Salters that his son was surrounded by family and watching the game in the Pacers’ locker room.
“He said that Tyrese is doing as well as he can be under the circumstances,” Salters said on the broadcast.