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Coming into Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the obvious question was how this young Oklahoma City team would respond to its fourth-quarter collapse in Game 1. Would the Thunder respond with a blowout as they did following Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets? Or would they possibly follow the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ and New York Knicks‘ lead, and allow the Indiana Pacers to steal yet another 2-0 lead on the road?
The final scoreboard read 123-107, but in reality, Sunday night’s Game 2 was decided far sooner. This was precisely the response you’d expect from a team that has now spent the past eight months establishing itself as a potentially all-time great squad.
The league’s Most Valuable Player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderlooked like it in Game 2, bouncing back from a starring role in that Game 1 collapse with a stellar all-around performance. Chet Holmgrenwho struggled in the series opener, immediately set the tone in the first quarter of Game 2, scoring nine quick points and making multiple impact plays defensively.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, who caught some predictable (if also misguided) criticism for changing his starting lineup in Game 1, stuck with it in Game 2 while also making some subtle — but effective — changes, including playing with both big men Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein on the court together and going away from the minutes for rookie guard Ajay Mitchell.
The Thunder once again throttled down the high-octane Pacers offense, preventing any Indiana player from scoring 20 points for a second consecutive game. This was a commanding performance — one that should be expected from a team that won 68 games in the regular season and outscored its opponents by 12.7 points per 100 possessions in the regular season.
But the Pacers have spent the entire postseason proving they cannot be counted out. Oklahoma City can have cold stretches shooting the ball, as it did in the second half of Game 1, and Indiana will certainly be boosted by hosting its first Finals games in a quarter century later this week.
But on Sunday night, the Thunder showed why they entered the Finals as decisive favorites. And, in this series’ biggest moment yet, this young group had an extremely mature response. – Tim Bontemps
MVP SGA delivers for the Thunder’s offense
After Haliburton and the Pacers stole Game 1, Oklahoma City needed its MVP to answer. Gilgeous-Alexander delivered with the kind of calm, controlled dominance that has come to be expected of him.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points in the series opener, but he needed 30 shots to do it. His 34 points in Game 2 came with his routinely excellent efficiency: 11-of-21 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the line.
It was also a terrific passing performance by the superstar. Gilgeous-Alexander had eight assists and plenty of other smart passes out of double-teams that started beautiful sequences of ball movement which resulted in open looks for teammates.
It’s hard to beat the Thunder when Gilgeous-Alexander plays at this level. — Tim MacMahon
Pacers need Haliburton to find his rhythm
The credit goes to the Thunder’s defense because Indiana’s offense struggled to find a rhythm for most of the game. The Pacers scored just 41 points in the first half and shot 35% from the field — one of their worst offensive performances of the postseason — putting them in a deep deficit they couldn’t climb out of this time. It’s no coincidence the Pacers were limited on offense on a quiet night from Haliburton, who scored 17 points with six assists after hitting a few baskets in the fourth quarter. He also committed five turnovers, his most in any game this season (regular or postseason).
Haliburton hit the clutch shot at the end of Game 1, but the Thunder have done a good job of limiting his production in the series while holding him to 31 points combined in two games. As the series shifts to Indiana, the Pacers will need to find more ways to keep Haliburton involved in their offense, which is crucial to that unit functioning at its highest potential. — Jamal Collier
What to watch for Game 3
Game 3: Thunder at Pacers (Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Haliburton will face plenty of criticism leading up to Game 3, such is the burden of a superstar. That spotlight is warranted because of Haliburton’s tepid performances through two games.
But it’s also worth noting how much worse Indiana has played without its star point guard. In Game 1, the Pacers were plus-12 with Haliburton on the court but minus-11 without him. In Game 2, they were minus-5 when Haliburton played, versus minus-11 when he was on the bench.
Through two games, the Pacers are plus-7 in 73 minutes with Haliburton and minus-22 in 23 minutes without him. That’s not a winning formula.
In Game 2, for instance, Oklahoma City led 21-20 when Haliburton exited for the first time, with two minutes left in the first quarter. By the time he reentered midway through the second, the Thunder’s lead had grown to 40-27 — despite Gilgeous-Alexander also sitting for most of that stretch. Indiana never cut the deficit to single digits for the rest of the game.
So while Haliburton must increase his aggression and effectiveness for Indiana to have a chance in this series, the Pacers also must stop getting blown off the court when he rests. The Pacers’ depth looked strong in the Eastern Conference playoffs, compared to the shallower rosters in Milwaukee and New York, and the injured roster in Cleveland, but it pales in comparison to Oklahoma City’s bench.
Perhaps Pacers role players like Bennedict Mathurin will play better at home while the likes of Oklahoma City’s Aaron Wiggins (18 points on 6-for-11 shooting in Game 2) struggle on the road. Rick Carlisle could also stagger his rotation so that more of Indiana’s starters are on the court when Haliburton rests, instead of turning to bench-heavy lineups that can’t keep up with the Thunder.
But the Pacers reached the Finals because of a team effort, not just because of Haliburton’s heroics. They’ll need that entire team to play better, from Haliburton on down, in Game 3. – Zach stall
For the first 47 minutes, 40 seconds of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander thoroughly outplayed Tyrese Haliburton in a matchup of star point guards.
But as Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after Indiana’s remarkable comeback to beat the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals: It’s a 48-minute game. And, in those final 20 seconds Thursday night, Haliburton and the Pacers changed the narrative … again.
First, it was Gilgeous-Alexander — who had 38 points but was 14-for-30 shooting — missing a clean midrange jumper, his specialty, that would’ve given the Thunder a three-point lead with 10 seconds left. And then, it was Haliburton again playing the role of road spoiler, hitting a circus shot that might not have been quite as spectacular as his high-bouncing miracle at Madison Square Garden on May 21. But, unlike that shot, this shot won the game for the Pacers in regulation.
As a result, Indiana — which never led until Haliburton’s shot from just inside the 3-point arc dropped through with 0.3 seconds left — somehow left the Paycom Center with a 111-110 victory over the heavily favored Thunder, and injected a massive amount of life into this series.
For much of Game 1, the Thunder were dictating the terms of engagement. They forced Indiana — typically great at taking care of the ball — into a team that was flinging the ball all over the place for 24 turnovers, compared to only six for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder took 16 more shots than the Pacers, but the Pacers hit 18 3-pointers — including 6-for-10 in the fourth quarter — and the Thunder, as they are prone to do, missed a whole bunch of them (11-for-30). That allowed Indiana — a team that has pulled off one remarkable comeback after another in these playoffs — to find itself in prime position again.
And, as he has so many times in these playoffs, Haliburton delivered.
There are still plenty of reasons to think Oklahoma City is the deserved favorite in this series. But the second half of Thursday’s game revealed a blueprint: The Pacers took far better care of the ball, and their high-octane offense took off. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, got into a rut offensively, and Gilgeous-Alexander had a couple of critical misses in the closing moments.
Because of it, as they did in both the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Eastern Conference finals in New York, the Pacers have claimed a Game 1 road victory.
And, as a result, we have ourselves a series. – Bontemps
The Thunder need 48 minutes of their NBA-best defense, not 24
The first half displayed the Thunder’s defensive fury at its finest, forcing 19 turnovers while holding the Pacers to 45 points. But it didn’t hold up in the second half.
Maybe it just took the Pacers a couple of quarters to adjust to the Thunder’s defensive pressure, but Indiana looked comfortable after halftime, putting up 66 points in the second half — 35 in the fourth quarter, punctuated by Haliburton’s winning shot — to pull off the upset.
Indiana also had only five turnovers in the second half, playing their style of fast-paced, under-control offense. — MacMahon
A new guide to another ridiculous Pacers comeback: cut the turnovers
If this postseason has taught us anything, it’s that the Pacers can never be counted out. After trailing by 15 points in the fourth quarter, Indiana stormed back to take Game 1 on yet another winning shot by Haliburton with 0.3 seconds remaining, the Pacers’ only lead.
It has become a series staple for the Pacers during this postseason run: a fourth-quarter Game 1 comeback that has demoralized each of their previous three opponents.
Indiana’s comeback this time was fueled by its usual suspects, some clutch 3-point shots from Myles Turner, Obi Toppin and Aaron Nesmithand taking better care of the ball after record-setting 19 turnovers in the first half.
And then, of course, Haliburton hit another big shot to seal the deal. — Collier
