Thunder cap off historic season with championship

Sad end to a very fun season

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

The pressure that changed in Game 6, remained different. Not shying away from what worked, the Pacers kept meeting the Thunder at half-court and were able to keep them bottled up early and often. On the other side, they were fueled by three early bombs from Tyrese Haliburton that he launched over the Maginot line the Thunder had put up. 

It was the negative step that has taken so many Achilles before, and it looked like it took Tyrese’s. I don’t even really want to write about it. It looked horrible. Tyrese looked heartbroken. Just hoping for the best. 

The finish to the first quarter was a bit jittery for the Pacers, as they tried to find their new normal on offense. Defensively, they were still doing a decent job of funneling the ball out and away from the Thunder’s stars, only Alex Caruso had a couple makes to punish the rotation. 25-22, Thunder. A race to the finish, and without their star guard. 

Both teams scraped and clawed, trading nothing easy, but with the Thunder getting extra looks they were able to build out a five-point lead in the early second. Through their always egalitarian offense, the Pacers pushed and prodded their way back into a one-point lead at halftime. A step-back triple from Andrew Nembhard put them over the top - yes, the very same dribble combo/step back package you’ve seen him hit before. Pascal Siakam led them with 10 points, but he was flanked by nine from Nembhard and eight from Bennedict Mathurin (who had a pull-up triple of his own). 

They won the first half on the strength of their defense, and a bit of a cold streak from the Thunder. They stayed alive with the three ball (8/16) and battled like hell. A really impressive stretch from the Pacers. 

Weird half to write on. 

It was a sloppy start to the second half for the Pacers, as they struggled to corral rebounds and coughed up a couple turnovers. They aren’t dominant enough to require multiple stops from themselves without giving themselves looks on the other end. Not to mention the Thunder got an extra five points off of missed travel calls. They didn’t build a buffer despite the opportunity, and a run of three triples in a row from the Thunder sent them up by nine.

A bit of composure would have gone a long way for these Pacers, and it came, at least in part, in the form of T.J. McConnell - who scored 12 points straight for his team to keep the Pacers afloat while Siakam was sitting, and even then it was only just barely. Outside of McConnell (who dribbled himself into a coffin for turnovers a couple times) the Pacers were in complete disarray. The Thunder ratcheted up their pressure, and the Pacers turned the ball over eight times in the first 10 minutes of the third. An inexcusable stretch, and one that saw them go down by 13 points. 

They lost the quarter by 14 points. They gave up 18 points off of turnovers in the quarter, and got none for themselves. Disaster. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander flattened out on Aaron Nesmith, as he had done successfully so many times in the series, and banged a triple to send the Thunder up 14 and to kick off the final quarter of the NBA season. The tidal wave kept rolling, as the Pacers struggled to create separation against the Thunder pressure, and with Chet Holmgren marauding in the background - it went terribly. 

The Thunder still found their offense, as Gilgeous-Alexander found middle, found a bunch of bodies, and found his shooters. They ran it up to a 21-point lead. 

An extremely resilient stretch from Mathurin who hard charged to the rim repeatedly, helped pull the Pacers back within viewing range of the Thunder, and they battled like hell on defense to try and grapple closer - but it was ultimately the turnovers and the lack of attention to detail on the offensive glass that kept the Pacers away from all of it. 

Glory to the winners. Respect to the losers. The Thunder get the closure they needed in their historic season. 

The Pacers made it farther than everyone thought. They took the condescension that dripped across the commentary about them and proved everyone wrong time and time again. 

Hope Tyrese gets better.

Have a blessed day.