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The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder will meet up in Game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight, and the Thunder will look to exact revenge as the Pacers stole Game 1 by the score of 111-110. Oklahoma City controlled the game through three quarters, but after having a double-digit lead, the Pacers chipped away and closed the gap as Tyrese Haliburton hit a game-winning pull-up jumper with 0.3 seconds left to put Indiana up for good.
The Pacers have a 1-0 series lead, and with the next game’s tip-off approaching, let’s dive into this Game 2 matchup while recapping how both teams got here and make a Game 2 pick for tonight.
It makes no sense to shape it any other way: the Pacers went and stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder at home with a Tyrese Haliburton game-winner in Game 1. The Pacers never had a lead at any point during Game 1 and were tied at 10-10 midway through the first quarter. 0.3 seconds of a lead was all the Pacers needed against the Thunder, who sported the league’s best home record – 35-6 during the regular season.
With a 94-79 lead, the Pacers went on a 15-4 run to put some fear into the Thunder, who dominated most of the game. Oklahoma City extended the lead back to 108-99, but two three-pointers by Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard got the Pacers right back into the thick of things, making the game one-possession. This comeback by the Pacers tied the largest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA Finals history, but Haliburton has made it his mission to hit big shot after big shot for these Pacers during this playoff run. We’ll see what other heroics Haliburton has during this series.
After playing lights-out basketball for 3+ quarters, the Thunder fumbled the bag and kept the Pacers in the game. Getting two home games to start the series is such an advantage for any team, but for the best home team in the regular season to drop Game 1 is disappointing. At best, the Thunder can tie up the series at 1-1 with a win in Game 2 and then hope to take a game or two in Indianapolis before coming back to the Paycom Center for Game 5.
The Thunder wasted a massive effort from NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Game 1, who put up a game-high 38 points and added 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals on 14-of-30 shooting from the field. The team shot under 40% in Game 1, highlighted by Jalen Williams’ uneven 6-of-19 clip from the field. Luguentz Dort hit 5 three-pointers as his only makes from the field, but only Alex Caruso off the bench (11 points) hit double-figures for Oklahoma City in the defeat.
For Game 2, it’s hard not to look to the obvious play that is Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s been a constant throughout the playoffs, averaging 30.2 points this postseason, and as he goes, so do the Thunder. That said, he went off in Game 1, and it still wasn’t enough, so the secondary scorers need to come up big for the Thunder if they tie up the series at 1-1 heading to Indianapolis.
Players like Jalen Williams are much less consistent with their scoring, as Williams averaged 21.6 points per game during the regular season. He shot over 54% from the field in the first-round series against the Grizzlies, shot a woeful 37% and just 17.6 PPG in the seven-game series against the Nuggets and then turned up the heat with 49% shooting and 22.2 points per game against the Timberwolves. If the Thunder are to get back to their dominant ways at home, they need efficient and voluminous shooting from somebody outside of Gilgeous-Alexander.
I’m going to bank on Williams tonight to get back on the right track as the Thunder look to avenge that heartbreaking Game 1 loss.
Kevin has been writing about sports since 2015 with a primary focus on fantasy football. His work has been featured on outlets like Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life, FantasyPros, Sports Illustrated, RotoBaller, Fantasy Alarm, and numerous other fantasy websites. As a native New Yorker now living in the Midwest, Kevin counts the Green Bay Packers, New York Yankees and Syracuse Orange as his favorite teams.