NBA Finals: Oklahoma City Thunder dominate Pacers to tie series at 1-1
"You can't just throw the first punch," Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. "You've got to throw all the punches all night, he quipped.
In the aftermath of game one of the NBA finals where the Oklahoma City Thunder lost by one point to a last-gasp Indiana Pacers winner, star center Shai Gilgeous-Alexander learned a lesson about the NBA Finals.
"You can't just throw the first punch," Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. "You've got to throw all the punches all night, he quipped.
Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder were on top of their game, helping Oklahoma City to a 123-107 victory to even the best-of-seven series 1-1 going into Wednesday's Game 3 in Indianapolis.
It was a swift response from a disappointing end to Game 1 last Thursday, when the Thunder led by 15 in the fourth quarter before Indiana came back to win the game 111-110 on a basket in the final second.
Painful one to take.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way on Sunday for Oklahoma City, scoring 34 with eight assists, five rebounds and four steals and went 11 of 12 on free throws.
There were plenty of areas of improvement from Game 1 for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to point out after the victory.
Oklahoma City had more success turning Indiana's turnovers into points at the other end, got better production from Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, had nearly double the assists after posting a season-low 13 in Game 1, and got an offensive spark off the bench from Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins.
The biggest stretch of the game came in the second quarter, when the Thunder ripped off a 19-2 run that was fueled by both their defense and Gilgeous-Alexander's finishes on the other end.
Indiana quickly answered with a 10-0 run to make it 52-39, but never got closer than that 13-point deficit.
In Game 1, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren combined to shoot just 8 of 28 from the floor, with Holmgren going just 2-for-9 with six points.
Holmgren looked much more settled early on in Game 2, hitting five consecutive shots after missing his first of the game.
While Williams wasn't overly efficient, scoring 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting, he did go 8-for-9 at the free-throw line and added five assists.
Holmgren finished with 15 points while Caruso added 20 and Wiggins 18 off the bench.
Tyrese Haliburton, the star of Game 1 after hitting the game-winning shot in the final second, led the Pacers with 17 points, though 12 of those came in the final quarter with the game fairly well in hand for Oklahoma City.
All eyes are now set on game three which should give pointers to where the NBA title will be going to this year.
