Berry Tramel
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Thunder’s 123-107 victory over Indiana in Game 2 of the NBA Finals was a much better performance than in Game 1, and the Thunder report card is full of positive developments:
NBA Finals
Best-of-seven: Series tied 1-1
Game 1: Indiana 111, OKC 110
Game 2: OKC 123, Indiana 107
Game 3: OKC at Indiana, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Game 4: OKC at Indiana, 7:30 p.m., Friday, June 13
Game 5: Indiana at OKC, 7:30 p.m., Monday, June 16
Game 6 (if necessary): OKC at Indiana, 7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 19
Game 7 (if necessary): Indiana at OKC, 7 p.m., Sunday, June 22
TV/Radio: All games on ABC and KYAL-97.1
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Passing: A
The Thunder threw just 208 passes in Game 1, the fewest for any team in any game all season, regular season or playoffs, according to GeniusIQ tracking. That led to just 13 assists. But the Thunder had 25 assists on 40 baskets in Game 2, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s eight assists. Seven of SGA’s assists went for 3-pointers, to five different teammates: Chet Holmgren twice, Alex Caruso twice, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins. The Thunder’s ball movement was crisper than in Game 1.
Defending Haliburton: A
Dort again had most of the duties against the Pacer point guard, but Cason Wallace helped, too, and not until the fourth quarter did Tyrese Haliburton find any kind of rhythm. Haliburton through three periods had five points, four assists, three assists and 2-of-7 shooting. Haliburton got hot in the fourth quarter and made four straight shots in a five-possession span, but that got Indiana within just 19. Haliburton finished with a respectable 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, with six assists, five turnovers, two steals and two blocked shots, but make no mistake, he was no factor when the game mattered.
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The Pacers are a deep team, but they were pounded by the Thunder reserves. Caruso scored 20, Wiggins 18 and the Thunder bench outscored Indiana’s 48-34. OKC had some crazy plus/minuses — the Thunder outscored the Pacers by 24 during Wiggins’ 20½ minutes, by 17 in Hartenstein’s 22 minutes and by 15 in Kenrich Williams’ 7½ minutes. And 19 of Indiana’s bench points came in the final 6:44, when the game was decided.
Rebounding: B
The teams shot relatively similar — Thunder 48.8%, Pacers 45.1 — which means the rebounding opportunities were equitable. Indiana missed 48 shots or reboundable foul shots, the Thunder 43. That means OKC should have had slightly more rebounds. And that’s exactly what the Thunder had — 50-48. The Pacers had a 10-9 edge in second-chance points. About the only groans from the crowd Sunday night came when Indiana twice got multiple offensive rebounds, mostly on long bounce-outs. But Hartenstein, back to playing more minutes after an abbreviated Game 1, grabbed eight rebounds. If the Pacers don’t beat OKC on the boards, they’ll be hard-pressed to win.
Double big lineup: A
Daigneault not only changed his starting lineup for Game 1, he didn’t even use Holmgren and Hartenstein together. Wallace continued to start in Hartenstein’s place, but Daigneault used both of his big men together in Game 2. It went well. Daigneault strategically went big when Indiana center Myles Turner, a sweet-shooting big man, went to the bench. That required less court-chasing for Holmgren and Hartenstein, and in their five minutes together, OKC outscored Indy 11-7. In the first quarter, Pacers forward Obi Toppin got free for a corner 3-pointer, but the Thunder defense held up. In those five minutes together, the Pacers made just two of eight shots, one of two foul shots and two turnovers.
Killer instinct: B
The Thunder took a 50-29 lead with 5:10 left in the second quarter, a 59-41 lead at halftime, an 87-67 lead with 2:22 left in the third quarter and a 98-76 lead with 10:25 left in the fourth quarter. But OKC, which terrorized the league (and playoff opponents) with blowout victories, never broke the lead past 23. Credit Indiana. The Pacers cut the deficit to 13 late second quarter and midway through the third period. But Indy never got closer, so credit the Thunder. When the Pacers got within 69-56 in the third, the Thunder responded by making four straight shots (two by Caruso) to take a 79-60 lead.
Second-half defense: D
Lost in the revelry of the Thunder’s dominating victory was Indiana’s second-half offense. The Pacers scored 66 points on quality shooting (56.4% from the field, including 38.9% from deep) and lots of foul shots (15 of 19), with just six turnovers. Some of that was Haliburton coming alive late, with the game decided, and some was a rash of Thunder fouls — the Pacers were in the bonus less than four minutes into the third quarter. The Thunder needs to tighten up in Game 3.
Slump-breaking: B
Holmgren and Jalen Williams had miserable series openers. They combined to make just eight of 28 shots and score 23 points. But they were much better in Game 2. Holmgren had a blazing start, with nine points in the first quarter. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Williams still struggled to find his touch, making just five of 14 shots, but he was much more aggressive. Williams got nine foul shots, his second-most of the playoffs. Holmgren and Williams didn’t necessarily play to a star-level, but they didn’t need to. Solid is good enough for this team.
berry.tramel@tulsaworld.com
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