The Oklahoma City Thunder, after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, will advance to their first NBA Finals since 2012 and will seek their first championship since moving from Seattle.
In the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers lead the New York Knicks 3-1 and will look to eliminate them on Thursday night, but the Thunder shouldn't really care who wins the series.
Not only did OKC go 2-0 this year against both New York and Indiana in the regular season, but their dominance is even more apparent than that.
Jalen Brunson
Jan 10, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden.
© Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Against the East, the Thunder went nearly perfect, and no team in the conference had an answer for them.
"The Thunder went 2-0 against the Pacers in the regular season, winning by an average of 13.5 points, and 2-0 against the Knicks by an average of 17.5 points," explained ESPN's Molly Qerim. "Overall, the Thunder went 29-1, that's unbelievable, against the Eastern Conference this season. The best record by any team against the opposite conference since conferences were established in 1970."
The Thunder's lone loss against an Eastern Conference team came to the Cleveland Cavaliers, losing 129-122 on the road in January. Just over a week later, OKC bounced back, trouncing the Cavs by 20 points in a dominant showing, ending the season with a +13 point differential against the best team in the Eastern Conference.
This season, the Thunder dominated the entire NBA, but they seemed to kick things into a new gear against the Eastern Conference, which bodes incredibly well for their title hopes.
Game 1 against either the Knicks or Pacers will tip off on June 5.
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