Defense has been one of, if not the Oklahoma City Thunder's, cornerstones for success this season. This team has arguably been the best defensive side in the NBA all year long, and this is one of the reasons why they are now battling for their first-ever franchise championship.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals was on Thursday night, and the Thunder wasted no time making their mark on the defensive side of the ball. OKC registered 12 steals in the first half alone, which now stands as a new NBA Finals record.
The NBA took to social media to announce the Thunder's historic milestone.
"The @okcthunder defense had 12 first-half steals, the most steals in ANY HALF in NBA Finals history by a team in the play-by-play era! ð" the league posted on Instagram.
The Thunder's defensive prowess was on full display in this game as they held down Indiana for pretty much the entire contest. Unfortunately for OKC, they failed to put up one final stop in the most important juncture of the game.
Tyrese Haliburton broke the hearts of the Thunder with a game-winning jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining. This was Indiana's first lead of the entire contest, which allowed them to escape with a 111-110 victory.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0)
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0)
© Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Game 2 of this series will be on Sunday as the Thunder play hosts again at Paycom Center. They have been left shellshocked by their unexpected loss in Game 1, but they will need to collect themselves quickly ahead of their next clash.
Simply put, OKC cannot afford to lose Game 2.