Young Thunder falter and now face ultimate test: NBA Finals Game 7
Young Thunder falter and now face ultimate test: NBA Finals Game 7
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Shaq talks NBA Finals matchup and NBA on TNT
Shaquille O'Neal joins Sports Seriously to talk about all things NBA and his upcoming Netflix docu-series 'Power Moves'.
Sports Seriously
The young Oklahoma City Thunder have absorbed lessons all season – in success and in failure through 82 regular-season games and 22 playoff games.
The lessons for the Thunder after six NBA Finals games against the Indiana Pacers are clear.
Clearer than ever.
Winning closeout games in the conference final round is one thing; winning closeout games in the NBA Finals is another, much more demanding thing.
The Thunder need to take the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy because the Pacers aren't going to give it up easily. They're going after it just as hard.
The 2025 NBA Finals get a Game 7 because Tyrese Haliburton (and his one good leg) and the Pacers destroyed the Thunder 108-91 in Game 6 Thursday, June 19.
'From our standpoint, it was uncharacteristic,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'It was disappointing. It was collective. It wasn't one guy. Just we were not where we needed to be on either end of the floor for much of the game. We have to be a lot better before Game 7.'
It was one of those games where the margin was not indicative of the beating the Pacers delivered. The Thunder were miserable across the board, but don't be fooled either. The feisty, admirable Pacers had a significant role in Oklahoma City's inability to score or defend.
'Obviously it was a very poor performance by us,' Daigneault said. 'But there's two teams out there. I want to give Indiana credit for the way they defended, the way they competed in the game, the way they played all the way around. They had a lot to do with it."
If the Thunder want to win the franchise's first championship since moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008, they know they can't have a similar performance.
Twenty-one turnovers leading to 19 Pacers points won't get it done. Shooting 26.7% on 3-pointers and allowing 15 made 3s won't get it done. Falling behind by 22 at the half and 30 by the end of the third quarter, going scoreless for a nearly seven-minute stretch at the end of the second quarter and start of the third, and eight turnovers by 2024-25 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won't do the job.
Gilgeous-Alexander didn't hide from the result. 'We got exactly what we deserved, what we earned. We have to own that," he said.
As dominant as Oklahoma City has been this season, it's also easy to forget it is the second-youngest team to play in the Finals in the past 70 seasons. This group is playing in their first Finals together, and Daigneault just coached his 32nd career playoff game.
Sunday is the 20th Game 7 in Finals history, and the first since Cleveland came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Golden State in 2016.
For the Thunder, there are encouraging internal and external signs. The home team is 15-4 in Finals Game 7s, including 4-1 in the past 30 seasons, and the Thunder defeated Denver in Game 7 at home in this season's Western Conference semifinals.
They lost two consecutive games just twice during the regular season and have not lost two consecutive playoff games this season. They respond to losses.
'It's a privilege to play in Game 7s. It's a privilege to play in the Finals,' Daigneault said. 'As disappointing as tonight was, we're grateful for the opportunity. We put in a lot of work this season to be able to play that game at home, which is exciting to be able to do it in front of our fans.
'Obviously disappointed tonight. But we'll regroup, get back to zero, learn from it with clear eyes, like we always do. Get ourselves as ready as we can be to play Game 7 on Sunday.'
The biggest test is Sunday in a winner-take-all game.
'The way I see it is, we sucked tonight," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We can learn our lessons. We have one game for everything, for everything we've worked for, and so do they. The better team Sunday will win. ...
"One game for everything you ever dreamed of. If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing. It's that simple."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- USA Today
How does the Desmond Bane trade from the Grizzlies to the Magic affect the Boston Celtics?
How does the Desmond Bane trade from the Grizzlies to the Magic affect the Boston Celtics? How does the Desmond Bane trade from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Orlando Magic affect the Boston Celtics, if at all? The Magic ponied up four first round draft picks, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Cole Anthony to secure Bane to their roster as they mushed their chips in to make a run at the 2026 NBA Finals in what is looking like a down season for Boston while star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum recovers from a torn Achilles tendon injury. Does this move change the order of the NBA's Eastern Conference for the 2025-26 NBA season? What about in future seasons? Was the move an overpay, or did it make sense given the market and the assets going out in the deal? The hosts of the CLNS Media "The Big Three NBA" podcast, A. Sherrod Blakely, Gary Washburn, and Kwani Lunis took some time on a recent episode of their show to talk the trade and its impact over. Check it out below! If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network:
Boston Globe
35 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Too bad the Celtics' roster can't remain the same, but it's good to know Brad Stevens will be in charge of the changes
Some of us, many of us, watched highlights of that championship run this week, and let me tell you if you do not know, it was the perfect elixir to stop thinking about how this season got away from them and appreciate what they achieved a season ago. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up I miss watching that team, and I'm going to miss the players from that team when some of them inevitably depart for other NBA destinations this offseason. Advertisement I don't want the Celtics to change. But they must. Life moves fast in the NBA, and a punitive collective bargaining agreement is going to make teams' championship windows slam shut even faster than before. The money and the math demand that the Celtics' — who are approximately $20 million over the second tax apron, a phrase all of us prefer to have never heard — make changes now, or face even more punitive punishments, ones that affect roster-building, a few long dribbles down the road. Advertisement It's not practical to stand pat, and most likely it would not have been even if But there is one compelling consolation. And now we're going to have the chance to watch him cook. As much as I'll miss any 2023-24 champion that moves on this offseason, I'm fascinated to see how Stevens approaches this. This much is certain: If and when he makes a major move, it would be a surprise if anyone sees it coming until it's about to happen or already has. I don't anticipate a long build-up of suspense or any leaks about what they might do given how his front office operates. I anticipate being blindsided. Every significant trade Stevens has made — starting with his first, in which he got out of Kemba Walker's deal and brought back Yes, that includes the move that sent Aaron Nesmith — a terrific shooter who has learned to crash into people more efficiently for the Pacers — out in a package for Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon helped bring Jrue Holiday here a year later, and Holiday helped put that newest banner in the rafters. Advertisement But Stevens's degree of difficulty is far higher than it has ever been. The franchise's tax circumstances are no secret, and any general manager with a clue will be trying to pry talent away at a discounted cost. That could be Holiday, who because of age, contract, and appeal to would-be contenders seems likeliest to move on. It could be Sam Hauser, whose extension has painful tax implications. It could mean Kristaps Porzingis, if one team watches his 2024 highlights on YouTube rather than the grim video of his 2025 playoff performances. WHAT A RETURN FOR KRISTAPS PORZINGIS 🔥 18 PTS 7-9 FGM 2 3PM 2 BLK He's the 9th player since 1976-77 to put up 18+ points in the first half of their NBA Finals debut 👏 — NBA (@NBA) It would be And what of Jaylen Brown? It would be tricky to trade him in a few ways. Only the Nets could take on his salary without sending salary back. And his appreciation for and understanding of Boston matters. But Stevens does have to consider it if a team such as the Rockets or Spurs makes an enticing offer. It was jarring watching the 2024 Finals highlights and realizing how much more explosive Brown was in that postseason than this one, when he played through a partially torn meniscus. He's had surgery, and perhaps that explosiveness comes all the way back. But these playoffs could be considered a glimpse at what Brown might be as a player when his athleticism starts to wane — a good one, for sure, but one who must become more efficient as he gets older. I'm not sure he will. Advertisement The Celtics also have picks 28 and 32 in next week's draft. Stevens has made just one first-round pick during his tenure, taking Baylor Scheierman of Creighton 30th overall last year. Scheierman looks promising, and Stevens must use the picks wisely again this year for a team that will require some young, low-priced talent to emerge. I'll reiterate: I'd love for them to find a way to land Georgia's Asa Newell, an energetic teammate of Cooper Flagg's at Montverde Academy. It won't be long now before the unflappable Stevens begins to shape the Celtics' future. I sure will miss the accomplished players who won't be part of those plans. But I can't wait to see who he chooses to succeed them. Chad Finn can be reached at
New York Times
37 minutes ago
- New York Times
After six fiercely contested NBA Finals games, the truth remains: It's hard to win an NBA title
INDIANAPOLIS — Among the truest things ever said was spoken, one night, at a group dinner. Among the dinner guests was an NBA champion. His team won multiple titles, actually. And as he regaled his fellow diners with tales from his career, he said, declaratively, and from hard-earned experience. 'Going for that ring takes you to some dark places,' he said. Advertisement This s— is hard. It is hard as hell to win an NBA championship. No matter your pedigree, or your talent, or your will. Or the ability and dedication of your coaches. Or the amount of money your owner has at their disposal. Winning 16 games — four series, four games per series — against the best teams and players on Earth, is a crucible. A kiln of physical and mental fatigue. Not only are your hopes and dreams at stake; so are those of your teammates, your families, your city. You drag the ghosts of your franchise's previous failures on your back. You get the fiercest opponents, their own dreams front of mind and stirring their hearts. The Oklahoma City Thunder went 68-14 in the regular season. They were, and are, a devastating team, led by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and a powerful supporting cast that bludgeoned opponents all year. They were 15-6 in the postseason coming into play Thursday, having taken out Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets, followed by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves during their postseason run. With one more win, they'd be anointed as one of the greatest single-season teams in history. That coronation got smacked in the mouth on Thursday by the Indiana Pacers, and their wounded star, Tyrese Haliburton, who Willis Reeded his way through 23 minutes on his strained calf, his example lifting the Pacers in a 108-91 rout that forced Game 7 in Oklahoma City Sunday. The Thunder may well win on their home court Sunday. They are ferocious there. But other than Alex Caruso, who won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Orlando Bubble in 2020, no one else on OKC's roster has been at this level before. You can't possibly know what this is like until you go through it, all the way. Oklahoma City, the overwhelming favorite coming into these finals, has been shoved up against a wall by the underdog Pacers. Advertisement 'It was hard tonight,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'Indiana was great and we were not. We have the same opportunity Indiana does on Sunday. Score will be 0-0 when the ball goes up in the air. It's a privilege to play in Game 7s. It's a privilege to play in the finals. As disappointing as tonight was, we're grateful for the opportunity.' I know that anything that happened more than 20 minutes ago is the province of the olds and the no-longer relevant. But most teams in the history of this league have been denied championships, year after year, career after career. Not because they weren't worthy. But because their opponents were. 'I have a new respect for the guys, the Steph Currys, the LeBrons, that do this year after year after year, and then go play USA Basketball, and do whatever they do,' said Pacers forward Myles Turner, a decade into his own career. 'It is the most mentally grueling, just like, mentally taxing, but most rewarding feeling, going through this grind,' he said. 'It's a 19-day process, is how we look at it. And there's nights you don't sleep. I've been trying to grow my hair out for the longest time, and it's started falling out a little bit from the stress. It's what it is. But again, it's the most rewarding thing, being able to play as long as possible, and get here.' It is hard to win 16 postseason games and carry the Larry O'Brien Trophy around for the next year. The Larry was in an undisclosed location somewhere in Gainbridge Fieldhouse Thursday, and would only come out after the Thunder finished off the Pacers in Game 6. They did not. In that futility, at least for now, they have company. The team with the greatest single-season record in NBA history, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, didn't do it either. They went 73-9 that season, a win percentage of .890. Their victory over the '16 Thunder, in an epic seven-game Western Conference finals, permanently shattered that Oklahoma City team. Kevin Durant left OKC after those playoffs … to join the Dubs! And yet, that Golden State team, the best in the history of the league, doesn't have a ring. LeBron James, at one end of the floor at Oracle Arena, followed by Kyrie Irving, at the other, didn't allow it, in the last two minutes of Game 7. Advertisement The pursuit of a ring almost broke the late Jerry West, one of the greatest players of all time. He never got over losing six times in the finals to the Boston Celtics. Ever. Boston's Kevin McHale played on what became a ruined ankle, for two months, during the 1987 playoffs. Scottie Pippen's back tortured him during Game 6 of the 1998 finals, when he went back to the locker room, again and again, to be able to squeeze out four or five minutes on the court. Isiah Thomas turned his ankle gruesomely early in the third quarter of Game 6 of the '88 finals, went to the bench for a minute, came back out, and scored a finals single-quarter record 25 points in the period, gimping up the floor in pursuit of the play. The Pistons lost. After the game, Thomas was on crutches. Somebody asked him how his ankle was. 'It's pretty f—ed up, I can tell you that,' he said. The aforementioned Mr. Reed tore his thigh in Game 5 of the 1970 finals, against West, Wilt Chamberlain and the Lakers. He missed Game 6. But, of course, he played in Game 7. He scored exactly four points. It didn't matter. Walt Frazier had the greatest Game 7 in finals history that almost no one remembers because of Reed's example. The New York Knicks won their first championship that night. They won a second in 1973. Fifty-two years later, they're still seeking their third. 'Chuck Daly once said, if people had any idea how difficult it was to win one game in the NBA, in the regular season, one game, they would have — you know, they would be shocked,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'There's so many things coming at you, and you're swimming upstream, you're going against great coaching, you're going against high-, high-, high-level players, and guys that go hard and are super skilled and all that kind of stuff. This time of year, not everybody's been deep in the playoffs or to the finals, but I guarantee you that people have a very good idea what goes on and how difficult it is to get here and how challenging it is. I do believe that.' Advertisement Playing through a strained calf is no joke. It usually puts a player out a week or two, sometimes longer. Guys playing on strained calves can find themselves dealing with much more serious injuries soon after. Haliburton was a shell of himself in Game 5 Monday night. He didn't make a single field goal. He only scored four points. He dragged his leg around like it was packed with wet leaves and gravel from the driveway. That he would play Thursday was no secret. That he would play as well as he did — 14 points, five assists, one turnover, for a plus-25 — was, of course, inspiring. But what he had to do to get on the floor! 'After (Game 5) I went to sleep, woke up,' he began. 'Went to the hyperbaric chamber (Tuesday morning). Got an MRI. Had a meeting with a couple of specialists, and my agents, and the organization. And then, the next day, more treatment at the gym, more stuff at the gym. I tried to get some shots (up). And then, just round-the-clock (treatment). Hyperbaric again. Carl (Eaton, Indiana's associate head athletic trainer) and Justin (Tallard, one of the Pacers' physical therapists) have been at my house, came in, put H-Wave (electrical stimulation) on me, and doing a bunch of treatment that way. And then (Thursday) morning, hyperbaric again. I'm usually not a game-day hyperbaric person, but I was just trying to give myself the best shot that I could. … and then, more H-Wave, more treatment at the house.' Haliburton said he won't listen to the 'poison' narratives that will permeate the sports talkosphere between now and Game 7 Sunday night. He wouldn't be able to, anyway. He will spend much of the next 48 hours the same way he spent the previous 48 before Thursday. Trying to coax one more night, one more special moment, out of his barking calf. One more. Because winning this thing is hard. Really hard. (Photo of Tyrese Haliburton: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
