The Indiana Pacers have been the best clutch team in the NBA this postseason. So, the Oklahoma City Thunder never let it get close in an easy NBA Finals Game 2 victory.
The 2024-25 Indiana Pacers have been one of the most unkillable teams in NBA history.
The Oklahoma City Thunder learned that lesson the hard way in Game 1 when they got out to a big lead only to see the Pacers storm back and steal the NBA Finals opener with a Tyrese Haliburton game-winner.
It was a costly lesson, but one the Thunder seemed to learn. Instead of going into prevent offense mode, the Thunder continued generating good shots and didn’t let up on defense either in Sunday’s 123-107 victory in Game 2. Every time the Pacers went on a big run, the Thunder answered with one of their own, looking much more like the team that won 68 games in the regular season.
The headline was another spectacular scoring game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting and added eight assists and four steals.
But Gilgeous-Alexander had 38 points in Game 1 and the Thunder still lost. It was the bounce back from his two costars that made the difference.
Jalen and Chet Rebound
Game 1 was forgettable for both Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, as they combined for 23 points on 8-of-28 shooting. It wasn’t just missing shots, either, as neither player looked comfortable when they had to make something happen against the Pacers’ persistent defense.
Game 2 was a different story right away. Holmgren led all players with nine points in the first quarter, mixing in some drives and hot shooting. He clearly made a point of being more aggressive after a passive first game of the series. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting for the game.
The Thunder made the change to move away from a starting lineup that featured Holmgren paired with Isaiah Hartenstein in Game 1 and never played the two of them together. It made sense to downsize to get another perimeter defender to guard Pascal Siakam to start the game, but not utilizing the two bigs together at all was a mistake. Holmgren and Hartenstein developed nice chemistry throughout the year.
Mark Daigneault found an opportunity to play the two players together in Game 2 when Obi Toppin came off the bench for the Pacers, and Holmgren looked like the best version of himself on both ends in those minutes. In the second half, he dunked home an assist from Hartenstein as soon as Hartenstein joined him on the floor. Even if this is a series where playing one big man makes sense against the Pacers starting lineup, the Thunder need to pair Holmgren and Hartenstein anytime Toppin is on the floor with centers Myles Turner or Thomas Bryant.
Williams wasn’t as efficient as Holmgren. He struggled to start the game again and finished with 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting but was much more aggressive and made better decisions than in Game 1. When the Thunder sat Holmgren and SGA to start the second quarter, Williams held the fort as the primary option and had five points in the first 3:11 of the second quarter.
The Thunder won the minutes that Gilgeous-Alexander was off the court in Game 2, and the offense looked functional even when he wasn’t involved. The Pacers made Gilgeous-Alexander do everything in the first game of the series, but the Thunder flexed their depth in the second.
Gilgeous-Alexander will get his points, but the Thunder need Williams and Holmgren to be heavily involved if they want to have success offensively.
Haliburton Not the Main Character
Tyrese Haliburton scored 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting and added six assists, which is subpar for him but hardly seems like a disaster.
Those numbers don’t tell the whole story, however. The Thunder were much more successful keeping Haliburton from being the impact player that he was down the stretch in Game 1. He had 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and it wasn’t enough to get the Pacers back in the game.
He also had five turnovers, matching his season high. The Pacers actually won the other four games (regular season and playoffs) this season that he committed five turnovers, but he also had at least nine assists in each of those games. If the turnovers come because Haliburton is the center of every play and occasionally makes a mistake, that’s survivable.
But the Thunder were able to both turn Haliburton over and keep his impact to a minimum. Six assists to five turnovers is a ratio the Thunder will live with every time. He had six assists and three turnovers in Game 1, so the Thunder have held him in check for most of the series. And in Game 2, they didn’t give him a chance to atone for his slow start.
The Pacers may have left Haliburton sitting for a bit too long in the first half as well. Haliburton exited with 1:56 left in the first quarter with the Pacers trailing 21-20. He sat for the next 6:24 of game time and the Pacers were outscored 18-7 while he sat. By the time he came back, the avalanche had already started and he couldn’t stop it.
Rick Carlisle might need to deploy Haliburton for a lot of minutes in this series. The team looked completely lost with him on the bench in the first half. The Pacers have proven they can win any game that is close down the stretch. But if Haliburton isn’t at his best and the team can’t be competitive when he’s off the floor, they’ll continue to fall behind by too many points. Even their magic has its limit.
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