OKC passes a rare stress test
The Thunder proves it can win a tough fourth quarter as it ties the NBA Finals
Thunder fans call it Loud City. They’re talking about the first three quarters. Their favorite team set an NBA record with a 12.9-point differential during its 68-win regular season. That’s just another way of saying Oklahoma City led the world in garbage time.
OKC lost the first close game it played this season, after it had started 7-0. For the season it went 7-6 in games decided by six or fewer points. That seems like a noble problem, and it speaks to the intensity and youth of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and friends. But the playoffs always bring drama into the 47th and 48th minutes. Again, Oklahoma City was 4-3 in six-point playoff games. Game 3 was a 9-point loss to the Pacers that got away at the end. Now, on Friday, the Thunder faced a 1-2 deficit at Indianapolis. Can you be too good for your own good?
Only the players could answer that, particularly when Indiana held an 87-80 lead after three quarters. And they did. They stitched together their most important fourth quarter of the season, if not their best. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points, including 8-for-8 from the foul line. Chet Holmgren cashed two putback buckets and the Thunder had eight second-chance points. The defense held Indiana to five-for-18 shooting, a figure the Pacers could usually manage during a power blackout, and Indiana missed all eight 3-point tries. It was cold and calculating stuff, and it was good for a 111-104 victory, the kind of finishing kick that the Pacers had patented. It also evened the series and set up the possibility of a truly classic Finals, maybe the best since the Cavaliers came back to beat Golden State nine years ago. The irresistible force that year was Kyrie Irving, and Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s MVP, looked the same way, with 12 for 24 shooting and 35 points.
There was plenty of help this time. Jalen Williams had 27 points and hit all 11 free throws, and Alex Caruso continued to look like the Lakers’ favorite mistake, closing out on Pacers and ushers and popcorn eaters, picking up five steals and scoring 20 points. Holmgren had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and he and Isaiah Hartenstein formed a tunnel of trees defensively.
But with 2:58 left, Gilgeous-Alexander rang the ball from 3-point land, one of only three deep shots the Thunder made in 17 tries. On the next possession he stepped back (and stepped and stepped, almost making it to Tulsa without dribbling) and hit a baseline shot that gave the Thunder the lead they wouldn’t lose. For once Indiana looked uncomfortable with the ball, and it got only one shot for Pascal Siakam in the quarter.
That is the appeal of the series. The Pacers and Thunder didn’t know each other well, and America knew almost nothing about either. Both teams are well outside the NBA cookie-cutter. The Thunder ranked fourth in NBA scoring but only 12th in assists, and had only 11 on 37 baskets Friday. Its best passer might be Hartenstein, who was returned to the starting lineup in Game 4. Generally OKC tries to get Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams matched up on the most vulnerable defenders, and the rest of them spot up for 3-pointers, and Holmgren cleans up loose ends inside. And what makes SGA special is that he grasps simple math. There are points to be had inside the 3-point arc, and he can get to those places without apparent strain. Once he’s there, he realizes a basket gives Oklahoma City two points. One point is not deducted because the shot is not a three. This might cause indigestion among the analysts, but Gilgeous-Alexander makes it count. He also gets the foul line more often that way.
Indiana had stifled Oklahoma City, at times, with bookend big guards, plus the quickness of Andrew Nembhard. It didn’t help that Aaron Nesmith got into foul trouble and had to leave with :44 left, having scored only two field goals.
Offensively, Indiana has its own peculiarities. Its scoring comes from anywhere and everywhere. On this occasion Obi Toppin brought 17 points off the bench. This discourages double-teaming, even though it’s not a bad idea to make Tyrese Haliburton play under duress. Haliburton, incredibly, had not shot a free throw in the previous three games, and he was 1-for-7 from 3-point range in this one. “It was a lot easier to get into a flow when we weren’t taking the ball out of our basket all the time,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
He also said the team that “imposes its will” is the one that will lift a trophy two or three games from now. The Oklahoma City franchise hasn’t won an NBA championship since 1979, when it played in Seattle. Indiana was the first dominant franchise in the ABA but hasn’t gone all the way since the merger. Both teams seem remarkably drama-free, with youth and depth and a belief in basketball’s old truths. There’s a big finish ahead, now that we know that the Thunder can reach its loudest when the storm is close.