The Pacers fought bravely after losing star Tyrese Haliburton early. But in the end, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the hero in the Thunder’s title-clinching win.
Every NBA team that wins a championship has moments in the playoffs that are exactly what fans had dreamt of happening for years. They’re plays that are the result of several decisions coming to fruition at exactly the right time.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder and their fans, this happened in the third quarter of a 103-91 win in Game 7 on Sunday night at the Paycom Center.
The Indiana Pacers, a team that will be the go-to example for overcoming adversity for every overzealous high school coach for the next two decades, simply would not go away. Tyrese Haliburton’s devastating injury in the first quarter darkened the finale of an incredible series as the Thunder won their first NBA championship in Oklahoma City.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton lays on the court after an injury during the first half of Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)We’ll never know what would’ve happened had Haliburton, who looked on his game with three 3-pointers early on, been able to keep playing. But we know what did happen, which is that the Pacers rallied, showed their trademark resiliency, and somehow found themselves with a 48-47 lead at halftime.
The game was tied at 56 after a Myles Turner 3-pointer, and then the three best players on the Thunder earned their place in NBA history by knocking down a 3-pointer each to give them a nine-point lead.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the prized prospect who was acquired along with a bevy of draft picks to kickstart the Thunder’s rebuild, hit the first 3-pointer and assisted on the next two.
The first assist went to Chet Holmgren, the big man from Gonzaga who was selected second overall in 2022 and absolutely had to hit for the team to reach the pinnacle. He turned into a weapon on both sides of the ball.
The second went to Jalen Williams, the 12th pick in that same draft, who was seen as a risk by some because he was coming from a small school in Santa Clara. He turned into a superstar.
The Thunder have won every transaction on the margins as well, but these three players were the biggest hits and came through in the biggest moment.
There were a lot of other moments that decided Game 7, but this snapshot will live on in the Thunder’s fans memories for years as the moment it all came together.
MVP Comes Through
Those moments may not have been possible without Gilgeous-Alexander’s steady hand early in the game. The Thunder couldn’t get anything going offensively, with several players showing their youth to start the do-or-die game.
Jalen Williams struggled mightily in the first half, with five points on 2-of-7 shooting. Chet Holmgren didn’t look in rhythm, either.
The Pacers did a much better job in Game 6 at corralling SGA in the pick-and-roll, but he found space getting downhill once again in Game 7. He finished the first half with 16 points, seven assists and four rebounds and that understated his impact. Any half-court possession that wasn’t predicated on SGA creating an advantage ended in disaster.
Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t slow down in the second half, finishing with 29 points, 12 assists and just one turnover on the way to earning NBA Finals MVP honors. It was the crowning achievement for an all-time season.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, holds up the MVP trophy as he celebrates with his team after a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)The Thunder were a great supporting cast all season, but in times of need, SGA was always there. He was the regular-season NBA MVP for a reason and the playoff run validated that.
Defense Dominates
Even with Gilgeous-Alexander’s brilliance, the identity of OKC all year was its defense. Every player who stepped on the court had to guard with intensity and when the defense was at its peak, it bled into easy offensive points.
That’s exactly what happened in the third quarter. The Pacers had staved off the Thunder’s high-pressure defense for long stretches during the Finals but succumbed to the intensity in the third quarter without Haliburton.
T.J. McConnell was brilliant, at one point scoring 10 straight points for the Pacers. But he was asked to do too much and the cracks started to show. He turned it over seven times in the game.
Several of the Pacers’ third quarter turnovers were live-ball turnovers and led to easy baskets the other way. The Thunder had 18 points off turnovers in those 12 minutes. The Pacers had zero.
The Pacers pushed this series to seven games because they knew what their identity was. They were among the most confident teams in recent memory, playing fast but under control, letting everyone touch the ball, and playing a whole rotation of players who weren’t afraid of the big moment.
The Thunder had shown flashes of establishing an identity in the Finals but couldn’t quite be the team they wanted through six games. The third quarter of Game 7 was Thunder basketball: relying on SGA’s brilliance and a defensive avalanche that overwhelms the opponent.
They found themselves just in time.
Finding a Way
Jalen Williams struggled with his shot and Holmgren looked out of sorts early, but they both found different ways to impact the game.
Williams’ defense can sometimes be underrated because it’s not as loud as some of his teammates, but he was an All-Defensive Second Team member for a reason. He’s the perfect blend of athleticism and strength and was always steady on the backline surrounded by talented players who like to gamble. It was rare to see Williams out of position defensively and his effort never waned even when he was shouldering a lot of responsibility on the other end.
He made good decisions offensively as well, with four assists and just one turnover. All playoffs, Williams refused to let shooting slumps take him out of his game. He kept playing and finally broke through in the second half, finishing with 20 points. Even with occasional offensive struggles, he was still easily the second-leading scorer in the NBA Finals.
Holmgren’s defensive impact was easier to see because it came in the form of several blocks and shot alterations at the rim. He ended the game with five of Oklahoma City’s eight blocks in Game 7. When he was off the floor in the second half, the Pacers were getting plenty of good looks at the rim. But he was a massive deterrent the second he checked in.
The Thunder’s complementary stars weren’t perfect … but they didn’t need to be. They just needed to impact the game enough to take some pressure off of Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Pacers showed better depth again, relying heavily on the scoring of Bennedict Mathurin and McConnell off the bench. Those two combined for 40 points.
However, the Pacers just couldn’t match the OKC’s star power with Haliburton sidelined. The Thunder built a team that could compete with stars, depth, offense and defense. They had answers for anything opponents could throw at them.
The Pacers pushed them to their absolute limit, but in the end, the team that was the best in the league all season passed their final test and won their first NBA championship since moving to Oklahoma City.
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