Pacers lose their star, then its shot at NBA championship in Game 7 loss to OKC Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Indiana Pacers' run to their first NBA title came up one win short and their franchise player suffered a devastating injury in the most important game in the franchise's history.
Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered a severe right leg injury in the first quarter and Thunder MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points points and posted 12 assists to lead the Thunder to a 103-91 win over the Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night at the Paycom Center.
The Thunder won their first championship since moving to Oklahoma City.
Thunder forward Jalen Williams added 20 points, center Chet Holmgren had 18 points and eight rebounds and guards Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace scored 10 each off the bench. Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 24 points. T.J. McConnell and and Pascal Siakam had 16 each and Andrew Nembhard had 15.
Here are three observations.
Haliburton started Game 7 playing with even more bounce than he did in Game 6 after two more days to deal with a calf strain that he suffered in Game 5. He hit three of his first four 3-point attempts and had nine points by the 5-minute mark of the first quarter.
However, with 4:55 to go he tried to drive to the rim in about the same spot on the floor at the Paycom Center where he stumbled on Monday and suffered the calf strain. This time, Haliburton didn't get up and instead stayed down pounding the floor with the apparent sense his season was over. He had to be carried off the floor with little ability to put weight on his right leg. The Pacers public relations department announced in the second quarter that he would not return for the game. Haliburton's father John told ABC/ESPN's Lisa Salters that it was an Achilles tendon injury, increasing reason to believe he had suffered a tear that could cost him much of next season.
The Pacers fought to keep the game tight through halftime with an exceptional defensive second quarter, holding the Thunder to 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting including 2-of-13 from 3-point range. However, the Thunder took control with a 34-20 third quarter and without Haliburton, the Pacers didn't have the juice to make another dramatic comeback.
The Pacers got fight and production from both of their other point guards in Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell. Nembhard scored 15 points and continued to provide resistance on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. McConnell scored 16 points and made 6-of-7 field goals in the third quarter, but he also had seven turnovers.
Once Haliburton was out, the Thunder had more free reign to harass Pacers ball-handlers, and as they tend to do and with blitzes, double-teams, traps but also just pressurized man-to-man defense, the created the steals and turnovers that always supercharge their offense.
The Thunder caused 23 turnovers with 14 of them being steals and turned those into 32 points off turnovers and nine fast-break points. The Pacers caused just eight turnovers themselves and finished with 10 points off turnovers and that gap was far too big to overcome.
Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't have to match his All-Star point guard counterpart's production, he still had to work for his points against the same tough-as-nails defender as he's been dealing with all series in Andrew Nembhard. He put together a performance that was worthy of the MVP award and helped tee-up teammates for easy buckets as well.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points on 8-of-27 shooting including 2-of-12 from 3-point range and made 11-of-12 free throws. He also managed 12 assists and created the gravity that led to 11 Thunder 3-pointers including seven in the second half.
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