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The Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA championship over the Indiana Pacers, 103-91, running away with Game 7 of the NBA Finals on their home court in exciting fashion.
The last time this franchise won an NBA title was 1979, when they were still known as the Seattle Supersonics. Since relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008 and rebranding as the Thunder, they have not won a title until Sunday night.
League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates made sure to change that on Sunday night, as their dominant regular season and NBA Playoffs run was capped in the best way possible in a do-or-die Game 7.
It was the first Game 7 since the historic Cleveland Cavaliers’ comeback against the Golden State Warriors in 2016 when they were down 3-1 in the series. Unlike that matchup, this series between the Thunder and Pacers has gone back and forth in thrilling fashion.
That’s exactly how this game began, too, with each team trading blows on the offensive end. But the Pacers suffered a devastating blow in the first quarter.
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana’s hero through the postseason, suffered an Achilles injury after pouring in three of his fourth three-point attempts to total nine points early on.
PACERS LOSE TYRESE HALIBURTON TO NIGHTMARE LEG INJURY IN NBA FINALS GAME 7 MATCHUP VS THUNDER
It was initially believed to be a reaggravation of his calf injury that was suffered in Game 5, but his father, John, told ESPN’s Lisa Salters that it was an Achilles. While John Haliburton said his son was in good spirits, he was quickly deemed unable to return for the remainder of the game.
The Pacers’ depth, which has been a catalyst for the team throughout the playoffs, had to step up in Haliburton’s absence, and T.J. McConnell was up for the challenge off the bench. He was on fire, going 8-of-13 for 16 points.
However, Gilgeous-Alexander tapped into his MVP level of play when his Thunder needed it the most. He may have struggled from three-point land (2-of-10), but he was a shot creator for himself and others throughout the game, tallying 29 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line, 12 assists, five rebounds and two blocks.
Gilgeous-Alexander was named the Bill Russell Finals MVP, marking the first time in 25 years a player won that award along with the league MVP and NBA scoring title.
But “SGA” wasn’t alone in his efforts to win it all, as his guard counterpart Jalen Williams poured in 20 points, while Chet Holmgren had the offensive game his team was hoping for after back-to-back underwhelming performances on that end.
Holmgren finished with 18 points as well as five blocks on the defensive end.
Off the bench, Alex Caruso, now a two-time NBA champion, had 10 points, as did Cason Wallace.
The Thunder truly started to pull away in the third quarter after the Pacers went into the locker room at halftime with the slim 48-47 lead. They outscored Indiana 34-20 in the quarter, and while we’ve seen some tremendous Pacers comebacks in these playoffs, they weren’t able to muster one final shocker in the fourth quarter.
On their end, it was Benedict Mathurin leading the way in the points department, dropping 24 off the bench including many in the fourth to try and claw back into the game. Pascal Siakam (5-of-13, 16 points, four rebounds, two assists) couldn’t shoulder the burden of scoring with Haliburton out either.
As a team, the Thunder’s biggest flaw in Game 6 was the vast difference in turnover margin, which Indiana took advantage of. This time, it was flipped as the Pacers had 23 turnovers that resulted in 32 conceded points compared to the Thunder’s eight turnovers and 10 points off them.
In the end, the Thunder turned this magical season into history as the second-youngest group to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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