Courtesy of All-Pro Reels
The 78th NBA Finals series has come and gone. The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers put on a show for seven games as each team fought to raise the first championship flag in their cities. This also became the 20th NBA finals series to go to seven games, the previous one being in 2016 where LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers led the miraculous 3-1 comeback against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The Thunder returned to Oklahoma City victorious while the underdog Pacers ran out of fire in the 11th hour. The 78th edition of the NBA Championship was a masterpiece so The College Voice is here for its recap!
From the Thunder’s side of the bracket, the expectations were sky high. Even though they were the youngest team in the league, they won a league leading 68 games. In the playoffs, they swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, had a seven game scare by Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the second, then bounced back to take down the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the Conference Championship. In an incredibly competitive Western conference with eight teams over .500, the Thunder showed a level of dominance the franchise hasn’t seen since they played in Seattle. Led by the regular season scoring leader and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his 7th NBA season, the Thunder were third in offensive rating and first in defensive rating, making them one of the most well-rounded teams the league has seen in years.
The Pacers were a total opposite story. They came into the season tied for 17th in championship odds and were not viewed anywhere near a championship caliber roster. This was also a franchise that had not made it to the finals since the 2000 season and hadn’t won a finals series in their history. Indiana, who went 50-32 in the regular season, won their most games in a season since 2013-2014. Led by the young Olympian, Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers proved to be an immensely talented team down the entire depth chart. First, taking care of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, then shocking the first-seed Cleveland Cavaliers in another five game series. Their last stop was taking down the red hot New York Knicks in six games. After being ranked 9th on offense and 13th on defense, the Indiana Pacers’ balance proved instrumental in the finals.
Going into game one at home, the Thunder were 9.5-point favorites who, off the coin toss, ventured to show why that was the case. They took a nine point lead in the first quarter fueled by SGA’s quick 12 points. On the other side, the Pacers struggled offensively, posting a meager 76.9 offensive rating. The second quarter was more of the same as Indiana’s offense continued sputtering and Oklahoma City methodically drove their point total up. Out of the break the game looked just about out of reach. Both teams started the quarter firing however OKC was continuing to hold Indy at bay. The script then flipped in the fourth quarter. Indiana’s three-point shooting took off, hitting six out of 10 attempts while Oklahoma City was unable to connect on a single deep shot. The Pacer defense held OKC to abysmal shooting from the field while overpowering their bigs on the offensive glass. With this last quarter turn, the Pacers were able to squeak out a one-point victory, 111-110, on a last-second game winner from Haliburton, his fourth of the playoffs. The series started off as an absolute shocker, especially given that the Thunder had the leading scorer of each quarter, and SGA’s 38 points were third all-time for an NBA Finals debut. To make this game even more notable, the Pacers turned the ball over 24 times, the most turnovers from a finals game winner this millennium.
Even after the shocker that was game one, the Thunder were even bigger favorites with the line set at 10.5 points. The game started with the two teams trading shots before the final 2:43 of the quarter, where the OKC forced Indy into a scoreless spell. The second quarter saw a flurry of almost fully uncontested Oklahoma scoring as Indiana was outscored 33-21 during the period. At halftime, the Pacers were even slower than in the first half of game one. Even Haliburton was struggling, only converting one shot attempt for three points on the half. The beginning of the third quarter looked like it might be another dramatic script shift as Indiana Center Myles Turner put up a quick eight points before Oklahoma’s offense sped up to keep pace. The Thunder were able to outscore their opponents 34-33 with both teams playing incredibly high-level basketball. After three quarters of dominant OKC basketball, the lead proved too steep for another improbable comeback. The Thunder won handily, 123-107, before taking the series to Indiana. With SGA’s 33 points, he set the new record for most points in their first two NBA Finals games at 72, breaking Allen Iverson’s previous record of 71. Even in the loss, Indiana’s roster depth was on full display as seven of their 12 minute getters scored double-digit points.
The Thunder flew to Indianapolis as 5.5-point favorites, and immediately jumped out to a 32-24 lead in the first quarter, commanded by their young center Chet Holmgren. Both teams struggled to maintain possession of the ball with a combined 11 turnovers in the quarter. The second quarter saw the Indiana bench take over the game as veteran T.J. McConnell collected three steals in three minutes to start the period, while the 2022 6th overall pick, Bennedict Mathurin, went off for 14 points off the bench. In addition to McConnell’s steals, the Pacers tacked up another four blocks that proved instrumental in taking a 64-60 lead at half. The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair of five lead changes, with Oklahoma City just outlasting their opponents to retake an 89-84 lead. The final quarter of the game was a disaster for the Thunder as their shots stopped falling from every spot on the court. The Pacers took advantage of this poor offensive performance with McConnell grabbing two more steals to end his game with a final stat line of 10 points, five assists, and five steals in 15 minutes of play time. Indiana won game three 116-107 with Mathurin, Haliburton, and three-time all-star Pascal Siakam putting up 27, 22, and 21 points, respectively.
The fourth game was evenly matched through the first quarter, even with OKC favored by 6.5 points for the second game in Indiana. The quarter ended 35-34 with the Pacers in the lead, due to their fantastic deep shot creation. Quarter two was more of the same, with a slower pace of scoring and four lead changes as the gold and blue extended their lead to 60-57 into the half. After the break, the Thunder’s offensive struggles turned from a leak into a flood as they almost fully stopped taking three-pointers with only three attempts. Indiana was slowly taking over the game, extending their lead to seven with a score of 87-80 at the start of the fourth. In this final quarter, the MVP took over, putting up 15 points while the Thunder outscored the Pacers 31-17 to win 111-104. Out of nowhere, the Indiana offense lost its groove with a shockingly low 77.3 offensive rating in the final period, shooting zero percent from beyond the arc, which ultimately led to their downfall.
With the series return to Oklahoma City, the hometown team was 9.5-point favorites to take a 3-2 lead on the series. The game started hot with a hailstorm of scoring from both teams. As the dust cleared, OKC was holding a 32-22 point lead due to their relative ease getting to the rim. In the second quarter, the Thunder pushed their lead further to 59-45. While the Pacers were dominant on the glass with a combined 18 rebounds, a calf strain to Haliburton limited his impact, going scoreless in the first half. In the third quarter, OKC’s Jalen Williams and Indiana’s McConnell each went for 13 points while the Thunder’s lead was cut to eight. It was the fourth quarter where the Thunder buried the Pacers in a 120-109 victory that saw Williams go for 40 points, while the calf strain made Haliburton an almost complete non-factor.
Back in Indianapolis, coming off their dominant victory, the orange and blue were 6.5-point favorites once again, this time in an elimination game. The game started with the Pacers’ young guard, Andrew Nembhard, showing off a stellar defensive performance against the MVP, which helped propel his team to a 28-25 lead. In the second quarter, the Thunder offense struggled even more, posting a porous 68 offensive rating, gave up seven turnovers, and had Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams account for the entire team’s points on the quarter. As the second half began at 64-42, OKC’s offense continued sputtering as they were unable to score in the first five minutes of the quarter. Indiana’s bench was critical in extending the team’s lead, with all but two minute-getters being plus players on the quarter. With the Thunder, behind by 30 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the game was effectively over as Coach Mark Daigneault benched all five starters. The blue and gold took the meeting 108-91 as both teams began preparing for the first game seven in an NBA Finals series since 2016.
The Thunder returned home for their final game as the favorites throughout the entire series, leaving the Pacers as 6.5-point underdogs. The game started with three lead changes in rapid succession before the fateful injury to Haliburton’s Achilles tendon. As he hobbled off the court, the silence and shock filled the stadium, leaving the Pacers visibly defanged. The Indiana bench, now forced into more active roles, fought back valiantly to keep the first quarter at 25-22 in Oklahoma’s favor. The Indiana bench’s momentum carried into the second quarter as they stifled the OKC three ball and forced seven lead changes to end the half with a 48-47 lead. Out of the break the Thunder offense jolted to life, sinking an outburst of shots from all over the court. Their defense also matched the offense’s dominance by causing eight turnovers and forcing the Indiana offense to run through McConnell. Down 81-68 into the final quarter Indiana came out flat. The wind had been snatched out of their sails and the team was held scoreless for the first 37.5% of the quarter. Former championship winning coach Rick Carlisle for the Indiana Pacers was sitting his starters in the final minutes of the game and conceded that the Thunder’s lead was too steep to overcome.
Oklahoma City had officially picked up its first championship banner and Gilgeous-Alexander was given the triple crown of regular season scoring champion, MVP and Finals MVP to join three all-time greats in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O’Neal. Not only was this a fantastic championship victory but a historic season in many ways. With much of the young core extended in the offseason, the Thunder are not only looking to win now but potentially create a dynasty for years to come.
