The Indiana Pacers are taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight! The Pacers make a miraculous comeback in the 4th quarter of Game 1 and lead the Finals 1-0. With the Pacers stealing homecourt, this is a big game for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. Will OKC bounce back and even up the Finals, or will the Pacers take a commanding 2-0 lead?
Pacers Down but Never Out
After trailing by 15 with 9:42 left, the Pacers would go on a 16-6 run to cut the Thunder lead to four with just over 4:30 left in Game 1. Then, as he has done many times this season, especially in this playoff run, Tyrese Haliburton would hit the game-winning shot with .3 seconds remaining. This isn’t the first time this team or player has needed to pull off a crazy comeback. The Pacers have recorded five comebacks of 15 points or more this postseason, including two against the one-seeded Cavaliers and in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks.
The Pacers had six different players score 10 or more points in Game 1; TJ McConnell had 9. When you get that scoring from the roster, it has been a recipe for success. Pascal Siakam led the team in scoring with 19 points on 7/15 shooting. What is the most surprising stat of the game? The Thunder won the turnover battle 24-6 but only scored 11 points off those 24 turnovers. That is the fewest points off turnovers when forcing 22+ since the 2017-2018 season.
Thunders’ Thunderous Disaster
Outside of the reigning MVP SGA, the Thunder’s stars shrunk in Game 1. Jalen Williams scored 17 points on a horrendous 6/19 shooting performance. Despite being a +4 when he was on the court, Chet Holmgren was ineffective, scoring only six points and grabbing six rebounds, shooting 2/9, and was benched down the stretch. Lu Dort and Alex Caruso were awesome, combining for 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 stocks. When you have those two “non-scorers” having those types of nights, it is a must-win.
One of the question marks of this team was their ability to play in tight games. They answered some in the series against Denver, but many more arose after Game 1. J-Dub would miss an 8-foot floater with 24.9 seconds left to put the Thunder up by three, and then SGA would miss his put-back mid-range jump shot, which led to the semi-fast break where the Pacers scored the game-winning shot.
Who Wins Game 2?
I believe Game 2 is as close to a “must-win” for the Thunder as it can get. Now if the Thunder lost Game 2, is the series over? No. However, given how the Pacers are playing and the confidence flowing through this team, it’ll be hard to win four of the next five games. I believe the Oklahoma City Thunder will handle business and make a statement against the Pacers in Game 2.
I expect SGA to have another MVP-level performance. If the Thunder can stick to their game plan and smothering defense, they can blow the Pacers out. How can the Pacers pull off the upset in Game 2? In Game 1, they were playing SGA one-on-one and not sending much help or trapping the pick-and-roll. It reminds me of how the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Thunder in the playoffs last season. Allow SGA to go off and not allow the “others” to support him.
Final Thoughts
If Game 1 has any foreshadowing into how this series will turn out, I am one happy basketball fan. We all know the old expression, “A series hasn’t started until a team loses at home.” The series has officially begun, and the most dominant team is trailing the Finals 1-0. Who do you believe will win Game 2, and which team will hoist the trophy for the first time in their franchise’s history?
