The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder pressured 25 turnovers in Sport 1 of the NBA Finals, essentially the most in any Finals recreation this century. Their star level guard scored 38 factors, 24 greater than their opponent’s star guard. They trailed for all of 0.3 seconds of recreation time.
And but, the Indiana Pacers went into Oklahoma Metropolis, weathered a horrible begin and stole Sport 1 by a 111-110 rating. Because the Pacers proceed a postseason filled with miraculous comebacks, the Thunder are left to marvel what went unsuitable — and the way they’ll forestall it from occurring once more in Sunday’s Sport 2 (8 p.m. ET, ABC).
Oklahoma Metropolis remains to be the higher crew on this collection and due to this fact stays closely favored regardless of the 1-0 deficit. However the Thunder used up quite a lot of their margin for error in Sport 1. Listed below are their 5 steps to bouncing again, to each even the Finals and reclaim the benefit past.
1. A fast psychological restoration
The Thunder’s most essential requirement has nothing to do with basketball technique and all the things to do with mentality. They have to put Sport 1 behind them, regardless of the way it ended; they cannot afford to lose Sport 2 at dwelling, too, just like the New York Knicks did within the Jap Convention finals after their very own Sport 1 calamity.
Thankfully, with the calm, collected Shai Gilgeous-Alexander main the best way, the Thunder have expertise of this kind. After a shocking Sport 1 collapse in opposition to the Denver Nuggets within the second spherical, Oklahoma Metropolis entered Sport 2 on a mission, scoring 87 first-half factors en path to a 149-106 victory. And after dropping Sport 3 in opposition to Denver in extra time, the Thunder confirmed sufficient mettle and fortitude to return again on the street in Sport 4.
That effort ought to show important within the Finals, as a result of Indiana will probably be higher ready going ahead, as properly. Within the first half of Sport 1, the second appeared too huge for the upstart Pacers, who dedicated 19 turnovers. However they settled down within the second half, to the tune of solely six giveaways, which paved the best way for his or her comeback.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 factors in Sport 1, however his sidekicks did not observe go well with. Holmgren and Williams are a bellwether for his or her crew: After they’re on, OKC is almost unbeatable, however once they cannot carry the standard burden of Nos. 2 and three scorers, the Thunder are weak to an upset.
The latter model of each gamers confirmed up in Sport 1. Williams shot 6-for-19, together with 1-for-10 on photographs away from the rim. Holmgren scored simply six factors on 2-for-9 capturing, and he was benched for the ultimate stretch as coach Mark Daigneault closed with a small-ball lineup.
That letdown was particularly problematic as a result of the Thunder switched their beginning lineup for the primary time this postseason, inserting Cason Wallace for Isaiah Hartenstein to take away their double-big look. That tweak positioned extra stress on Holmgren, who did not dwell as much as it in his first Finals recreation.
(Hartenstein, conversely, was efficient in 17 minutes off the bench, with 9 factors and 9 rebounds. Indiana’s lack of a bruising middle means this is not one of the best matchup for him, in idea, however he very properly may deserve extra taking part in time going ahead.)
It wasn’t simply that Holmgren was invisible on offense. He additionally suffered a uncommon off evening defensively, dropping his man on a number of 3-pointers that helped Indiana shut the hole within the fourth quarter. Whereas Holmgren completed with six factors and 6 rebounds, Indiana’s huge males thrived: 15 factors and 9 boards for Myles Turner, plus 17 factors (and 5 enormous 3-pointers) for reserve Obi Toppin.
Add in Pascal Siakam outplaying Williams within the battle of No. 2 choices, and Indiana’s supporting forged did simply sufficient to make up the hole between Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton, who struggled all evening till his last-second winner.
3. Snappier ball motion
Indiana entered the Finals with a transparent defensive technique: Let Gilgeous-Alexander take powerful photographs, however do not compromise the remainder of the protection to assist in opposition to the MVP.
That strategy pressured Oklahoma Metropolis into unprecedented offensive stagnation. The Thunder threw simply 208 passes in Sport 1, per GeniusIQ monitoring — the fewest for any crew in any recreation all season, common season or playoffs. Adjusted for tempo, it is the second-fewest passes in a playoff recreation within the monitoring period (since 2013-14).
The earlier playoff performances this season with the fewest pace-adjusted passes have been the Cleveland Cavaliers in Sport 1 in opposition to Indiana, and the Cavaliers in Sport 5 in opposition to Indiana. That is smart, because the Pacers employed the same technique in opposition to Donovan Mitchell as they did in opposition to SGA.
Whereas Gilgeous-Alexander, like Mitchell, principally dealt with the heavy duty heaped onto his shoulders, there was little playmaking for his teammates. The Thunder recorded simply 13 assists in Sport 1; their earlier low within the playoffs was 19. (Their earlier low within the common season was 16, when the starters sat in recreation No. 82.)
To be truthful, the Thunder would have tallied extra assists in the event that they’d shot higher (extra on that situation in a second). However they need to spend the off days earlier than Sport 2 figuring out methods to counter this Pacers technique by rising their offensive move, which may assist get SGA’s teammates extra concerned and preserve the crew in rhythm in future clutch eventualities.
4. Higher ending across the basket
On reflection, Oklahoma Metropolis misplaced Sport 1 within the first half, when the hosts didn’t construct a bigger lead regardless of forcing 19 turnovers. The Thunder’s protection regarded as impregnable as ever, however the offense was holding them again.
That is as a result of Oklahoma Metropolis’s ending was, to make use of a technical time period, completely horrible. In response to Cleansing the Glass, the Thunder shot 20-for-36 on the rim in Sport 1 (which is within the 14th percentile of all video games this season) and a so-bad-it’s-almost-unbelievable 3-for-18 from floater vary (2nd percentile).
An incapability to complete inside is the principle motive they struggled to show all these turnovers into factors. The Thunder scored simply 0.4 factors per steal in Sport 1, per Cleansing the Glass. All through the remainder of the season, for context, they averaged 1.4 factors per steal, or greater than thrice larger.
A lot of the credit score right here belongs to Turner, who completed with three blocks and altered many extra makes an attempt. The Thunder shot simply 1-for-9 in opposition to the Pacers middle within the paint, per GeniusIQ; after Gilgeous-Alexander made an acrobatic layup for the sport’s first factors, the Thunder missed each close-range shot the remainder of the evening when Turner was the closest defender. A lot of these misses, to circle again, have been tough Holmgren whiffs in site visitors.
— Zach Kram (@zachkram) June 6, 2025
Nonetheless, the Thunder can, and will, end higher in upcoming video games. Based mostly on components just like the shooters’ identities and defender location, GeniusIQ estimates that the Thunder would have been anticipated to attain eight extra factors within the paint than they really did. In the event that they’d solely completed like their monitor report suggests they need to, the Thunder would have received Sport 1.
5. Extra thought-about prevention of the Pacers’ open nook 3s
The Thunder additionally would have received Sport 1 in the event that they hadn’t let the Pacers run wild from the corners. That is essentially the most acute vulnerability for the in any other case dominant Thunder protection: As a tradeoff for reducing off the rim, they allowed essentially the most nook 3s of any crew this season, per Cleansing the Glass.
The Pacers took benefit in Sport 1, with their highest nook 3 frequency of any recreation this season. They made 10 of these 16 makes an attempt (63%), capturing 7-for-9 (78%) within the second half, they usually wanted each a kind of buckets to finish their comeback.
When reviewing movie, Oklahoma Metropolis will in all probability settle for a few of these high-value makes an attempt, which have been both contested or the results of diverting assist elsewhere. Indiana additionally outperformed its 3-point shot high quality by a hefty margin, per GeniusIQ.
— Zach Kram (@zachkram) June 6, 2025
However on different events, a Thunder miscommunication left a Pacer broad open from a nook, which is an untenable lapse at this stage.
Although the indefatigable Pacers do not make it simple, the Thunder can clear up these miscues.
They will have to, at any charge, as they’re on the again foot now and should repair their Sport 1 points in the event that they plan to win the primary NBA title in Oklahoma Metropolis historical past.
