NBA Finals: The Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA Finals championship since moving from Seattle in 2008, capping an incredible season by defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7.
In the last game on Sunday, in front of a boisterous home crowd at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), led the scoring with 29 points and 12 assists.
Oklahoma City won the NBA title for the first time when the team that played the best all season ended up being the greatest team overall. In Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, the Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers, who lost Tyrese Haliburton to a catastrophic leg injury in the first few minutes, 103-91. Gilgeous-Alexander ended his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists.
The Thunder concluded an unforgettable season with 20 points from Jalen Williams and 18 from Chet Holmgren. The Thunder tied the 1996–97 Chicago Bulls for the third-most wins in any season with 84 victories during the regular season and the playoffs.
For the first time since Shaquille O’Neal in 2002, a player has earned both the regular season and Finals MVP awards. He was also named the best player of the Finals.
Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers’ standout point guard, suffered an Achilles injury halfway through the first quarter, dealing them a severe blow early on. In the second half, a stifling Oklahoma City defense crushed their aspirations of winning the championship.
The Thunder finished the regular season with a 68-14 record, which was excellent for the fifth-most wins in a single NBA season, and the title concluded an incredible run.
The Pacers, the unexpected Eastern Conference champions, forced the league’s top team to the winner-take-all final, making the Finals between two small-market teams exciting but lacking in star power.
Five minutes into the game, Haliburton made his third three-pointer, giving the Pacers a head start. However, two minutes later, he stumbled and collapsed, which gave Indiana a horrible start to the evening.
The building filled with Oklahoma City supporters was silent as the two-time All-Star broke down in tears and the medical staff hurried to his side.
The tenacious Pacers maintained a close game throughout a strenuous second quarter, playing excellent defense to lead by one at the break.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished 0–5 from beyond the arc in the first half, ignited the fire with a 25-foot three-point jump shot four minutes into the third quarter, but the Thunder quickly took control.
The Thunder started the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run, and despite the Pacers’ mastery of the late comeback in the postseason, they were unable to overcome the deficit without Haliburton.
In the 12 seasons that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has overseen, the Thunder are the ninth team to win a championship. In his 30 seasons as commissioner, his predecessor, David Stern, watched eight teams win championships.
