Series Back In Focus For Thunder Entering Pair Of Games In Indiana

The NBA Finals have shifted to Indianapolis, as the Pacers are set to host the next two games. On Wednesday night, a tied series will be broken, and either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Indiana Pacers will take a commanding 2-1 lead.

Game 2 was a pivotal contest in its own right, as the Thunder faced a potential 0-2 hole if that game didn’t fall in OKC’s favor. But Oklahoma City put together a dominant performance that had the home crowd roaring the entire game, as the Thunder ultimately controlled the majority of the contest.

Although the Thunder lost Game 1 on a heartbreaking buzzer-beater, it was a game that OKC controlled for the vast majority of the minutes, but it all slipped away late and was capped off by a Tyrese Haliburton buzzer-beater.

There weren’t many major adjustments that Oklahoma City needed to make in Game 2, given the overall success of Game 1, but tweaks needed to be made in order to ensure a victory. That’s exactly what happened, as the Thunder’s overall game plan and strategy resulted in a dominant Game 2 victory.

“I just thought in a lot of areas it would be easy to just say that one thing looked better tonight. But that would be oversimplifying,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “I think we were just a little bit better in a lot of different areas of execution, of pace to your point, organization, decision making in the paint, aggressiveness at the basket, gathering the ball. We just were a tick forward in all those areas.”

In both of the NBA Finals games thus far, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has by far the best player in the series. His 72 points through the first two games are the most for any player in an NBA Finals debut ever. But to him, winning is all that matters. Despite all the hype that has been surrounding Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA Finals, it doesn’t matter unless Oklahoma City wins.

“I would trade the points for two Ws, for sure,” said Gilgeous-Alexander after Game 2. “But this is where our feet are. This is where we are. You can’t go back in the past, you can only make the future better. That’s what I’m focused on.”

Leading the way for Indiana is Haliburton, who has largely struggled outside of his game-winner in the opening contest. Before that shot, he only had 12 points on 12 shots and had turned the ball over three times. In Game 2, he notched 17 points, but 12 of those came late after the game was already out of hand. He also had five turnovers in that second game. But even then, he’s been very impactful overall and likely will turn things around at home in Game 3 and Game 4.

“He’s a good player. He’s going to affect the game, even if he has an off night,” said Jalen Williams on Sunday night. “Him being on the floor, he’s going to have some type of impact on the game. A lot of it is trying to make it really hard for him to get to spots, understanding what he likes to see, try to turn that off.”

Outside of the head-to-head battle of superstars with Gilgeous-Alexander and Haliburton, each team’s supporting cast will likely have an even more important role. The team that has won the bench battle generally has been very successful in the postseason thus far. Furthermore, as it relates to OKC, when Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are playing well offensively, the Thunder is extremely difficult to beat.

Game 3 will be a fascinating one, as these squads match up for the first time at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in these playoffs. The Pacers are 0-3 in Game 3’s in the postseason and the Thunder is 1-2 in Game 3 scenarios this postseason. Furthermore, Oklahoma City has led in all but 113.3 seconds of the NBA Finals, but the series is still tied at 1-1. That’s how razor-thin the margins are in the playoffs and why every single possession matters.

Wednesday night’s Game 3 action will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CST on ABC.