Bill Haisten
Western Conference
First round: OKC vs. Memphis
The top-seeded Thunder opened its postseason run with a statement — a 51-point mugging of the eighth-seeded Grizzlies. During a 131-80 Oklahoma City blowout, the Grizzlies got only 36 points from their starters.
OKC would advance with a four-game sweep, but Game 3 was memorable in that the Thunder recovered from a 29-point deficit. With three minutes left before halftime, a Desmond Bane layup gave the Grizzlies a 69-40 cushion. By game’s end — as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holgren combined for 81 points — OKC was a 114-108 winner.
Western quarterfinals: OKC vs. Denver
Driven by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the fourth-seeded Nuggets were only two years removed their NBA championship run. It had been believed that Denver might be OKC’s least favorable match-up in the West, and the Nuggets stole a Game 1 road win on an Aaron Gordon 3-pointer.
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In advance of Game 4 in Denver, there was a two-games-to-one Thunder deficit. By the end of that massively critical test, there was a combined total of 32 bench points from Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace, and there was a 92-87 OKC triumph. In Game 7 played in Oklahoma City, the Thunder dominated and won 125-93.
Western finals: OKC vs. Minnesota
Oklahoma City opened with home victories of 26 and 15 points. Game 3 at Minneapolis was inexplicably terrible for the Thunder. That final score: Timberwolves 143, OKC 101.
The Thunder response in Game 4 was a 128-126 victory, during which OKC’s Triplets were special. SGA’s totals: 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Jalen Williams’ numbers: 6-of-9 shooting on 3-pointers and 34 points. Chet Holmgren scored 21 points and blocked three shots. Oklahoma City finished the Wolves with a 30-point beatdown in Game 5.
NBA Finals: OKC vs. Indiana
This series began as the Denver series began — with a one-point Thunder home loss as Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton converted on a 21-foot shot with three-tenths of a second remaining in the fourth quarter. Before that shot, the Pacers hadn’t led all night.
Indiana prevailed also in Game 3 at Indianapolis. And again, as was the case in the Denver series, there was a clutch Thunder answer in Game 4 — a 111-104 win as SGA scored 15 of his 35 points during the final 4½ minutes. In a close-out opportunity in Game 6, however, Oklahoma City was outplayed in every sense and blown out in Indianapolis.
That outcome resulted in one of the more spectacular sports events in Oklahoma history — Sunday’s Game 7, during which Haliburton sustained a ruptured Achilles tendon. OKC rallied from a shaky first half to rattle Indiana with a tremendous third period, and the Thunder would prevail 103-91 as a roaring crowd of 18,203 celebrated this state’s first big-league championship.
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