Behind a huge effort from Alex Caruso, the Thunder gave the Pacers a taste of their own medicine with a huge comeback in the fourth quarter.
For the second time this postseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder found themselves trailing in the fourth quarter on the road, with MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looking worn down, staring at a 3-1 deficit.
Once again, the Thunder found a way to even the series. Last time, it was against the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic. This time, the comeback was against the Indiana Pacers, the kings of the clutch.
Neither game was an offensive masterpiece. The Thunder beat the Nuggets in Game 4 92-87 in a score more reminiscent of the early 2000s than the modern NBA. In Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night against the Pacers, the Thunder shot an unthinkable 3 of 17 on 3-point attempts. It was the fewest 3s made by any team in the NBA Finals since 2012 (a Thunder Game 4 loss to the Miami Heat) and the fewest by any winning team in the NBA Finals since 2010 (a Celtics Game 5 win vs. the Lakers). They still managed to outscore the Pacers 31-17 in the fourth quarter to win 111-104.
The Thunder’s backs haven’t been against the wall very often in a dream 2024-25 season, but, when they have been, the team has somehow found a way to win.
Awesome Alex
If it’s hard to figure out why the Thunder won a particular game, a good rule of thumb is assuming Alex Caruso made some unbelievable plays when it mattered most.
When Caruso played in Chicago, Bulls television analyst Stacey King liked to say it felt like there were five Carusos on the court when he was playing because of how he seemed to be involved in every defensive action.
It’s an apt way to describe the effects Caruso can have on a game, and the Pacers probably felt like he had clones in Game 4.
Caruso had 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting in a game where the Thunder needed every basket they could get. But it was Caruso’s defense that impacted the game the most and not just his five steals.
The Thunder did an excellent job keeping the Pacers out of the paint in the first two games of this series. In Game 3, the Pacers started to get quality paint touches that led to kickouts.
At the start of Game 4, the dam broke. Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam were getting in the paint any time they wanted and the Thunder’s defense, which has been the best in the NBA all season, looked like it had finally been solved. The Thunder could always rely on their off-ball defenders to help the perfect amount without committing too hard. But the Pacers’ constant ball movement had been matched by player movement and the Thunder learned a lesson that every Pacers’ opponent has learned the hard way this postseason; there isn’t a player on the floor opposing players feel good about leaving to help.
The Thunder finally looked human. There was a lot of hesitation and the defenders in the action felt like they were on an island more than ever. When the help came, the Pacers tore it to shreds, getting multiple open looks off of two simple passes.
Enter Alex Caruso. The other Thunder couldn’t strike the right balance of help and recover in Game 4 but Caruso did. There were so many instances where Caruso’s simple step in off the ball forced a player to pick up their dribble or alter their driving path. His screen navigation, which wasn’t quite as sharp in Game 3, was excellent again. Even when the Pacers felt like they shifted the defense enough, there was Caruso, making a last-ditch defensive effort that paid dividends.
The Pacers trailed by four with under 30 seconds left and had another great possession that featured Haliburton penetration and a kickout. The ball was eventually in Myles Turner’s hands for what seemed to be an open 3-point attempt.
Turner had several looks at the basket and went 0 of 6 on 3s, so maybe he simply missed another one. Or maybe he saw Caruso flying over from the weak side, anticipating the play and giving a late contest.
It wasn’t his most influential defensive play, but this last big play was the epitome of Caruso’s Game 4. It looked like the possession slipped away from the Thunder, but a heroic effort by Caruso gave them a shot late. The Thunder don’t win this game without his effort.
Missed Opportunity
The Pacers missed a golden opportunity to take a 3-1 lead in this series and finally struggled in a clutch game.
It may seem odd to lament the poor shooting of the Pacers when the Thunder were historically inept on 3-pointers. But the Pacers had so many open looks, particularly in the fourth quarter, when they went 0 of 8 on 3-point attempts.
When Caruso wasn’t in the game to deter it, the drive-and-kick game was working. But the Pacers couldn’t knock down open or lightly contested 3s. They finished 11 of 36 (30.6%) on 3s.
The good news is that they’ve found a recipe for offensive success against the Thunder, something no team has done with any consistency this postseason. The Pacers’ entire rotation consists of players not afraid to take catch-and-shoot jumpers, they have Haliburton to lead the offense and Siakam to bully mismatches both big and small. Haliburton was more aggressive getting into the lane this game and got his first three free throw attempts of the NBA Finals. He could’ve had a few more with his aggression late in the game with a friendlier whistle.
T.J. McConnell continues to loom large as well. He didn’t have the impact he did in Game 3, but his ability to handle some lead ballhandling duties takes the pressure off Haliburton to do that for the entire game. The Thunder’s lack of a true backup point guard has forced SGA to have a heavier burden.
Yet, with all those positives, the Pacers still came up short. There are no moral victories in the NBA Finals. They missed a key opportunity in Game 4. They’ll need to keep getting into the paint and knock down more shots to get another opportunity in Game 5.
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Thunder vs. Pacers: Caruso Comes Up Clutch in OKC’s NBA Finals Game 4 Fourth-Quarter Comeback Opta Analyst.
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