Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out-clutches Pacers, as series changes with series of changes

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

After leading by as many as 10 points in Game 4, the Pacers were outscored 31-17 in the fourth quarter. For a team that was previously 9-1 in clutch games throughout the playoffs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out-clutched the Pacers all by himself over the final five minutes, tallying 15 points to just seven for Indiana. Whereas the Pacers struggled to regain traction while screening Gilgeous-Alexander into action, Gilgeous-Alexander relentlessly searched for and found friction while operating as the screener to finagle more favorable match-ups in what led to a series of changes that changed the series from a potential 3-1 lead for the Pacers to a 2-2 split.

Joining me to discuss that, along with other trends and notables from Game 4, is once again Samson Folk.

Here are the relevant timestamps:

0:00 - Introductions

4:11 - Closing with Toppin or Turner?

6:05 - The art of the DHO & why it's needed against OKC's physicality (also, a brief aside on ref analysis)

12:08 - Turner being forced to play to areas that aren't necessarily his strengths while also not looking as though he was at full strength

14:53 - Impact of OKC's lineup changes and Toppin being defended by fives

20:43 - Missed opportunities for seals

24:11 - Brief aside on the broader potential to make use of the backboard as a means to feed the post against mismatches when fronted

26:05 - Doing the splits further from the basket (relatedly, Siakam only had eight touches in the fourth quarter, none of which were in the paint)

29:44 - Contrast between OKC running actions between their two best players, despite being guarded by Nembhard & Nesmith, whereas Siakam wasn't as involved in the fourth quarter while being defended by Jalen Williams

32:33 - Adjustment from OKC for SGA to screen for Williams, shedding Nembhard while baiting Nesmith into foul trouble (which is why Mathurin was in the closing lineup)

35:46 - Will the Pacers have Nesmith switch onto SGA again in Game 5? And, how might OKC counter if they don't?

42:30 - What the Pacers are looking for when Tyrese is isolating in combination with flare screens w/ late-game comparisons from past seasons

48:49 - What to watch for in Game 5 (Also, not everything has to be about which of these teams collapses on any given night! Both teams are actively trying to create and solve problems in real-time! The Finals are hard!)

1:00:37 - Banter about word pronunciations, naturally

1:02:35 - Exit survey on our joint time spent together in Indy + a huge thank you to all of the fans who came up to tell us how much they appreciate our coverage

1:09:01 - Goodbyes & apologies for the delay in our release for this episode