Player grades: Thunder win NBA championship with 103-91 Game 7 win over Pacers
OKLAHOMA CITY — Don't expect OKC to go to sleep anytime soon. For the first time since their 2008 relocation, the Oklahoma City Thunder have won an NBA championship. The fanbase finally reached the mountaintop after decades of coming up just short.
The Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in a 103-91 Game 7 win. It was the grand conclusion of an exciting 2025 NBA Finals that went the distance.
Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Thunder had a slow start. Blame it on Game 7 nerves. The offense couldn't get going. Tyrese Haliburton nailed his first three looks from the outside. Everything went in the Pacers' favor.
And then on a turnover, Haliburton went down. He needed to be helped off the court. The Pacers' worst nightmare came to life. Playing with a calf strain, everybody's first thought went to a possible torn Achilles. While Indiana didn't confirm the injury, he was ruled out the rest of the way after just seven minutes.
That shattered any optimism for the Pacers. The Thunder finished the first quarter with a 25-22 lead. But credit Indiana, it kept hanging around. That's what they've done all playoffs. They scored 26 points in the second frame to make OKC sweat nerves.
Andrew Nembhard nailed a stepback 3-pointer in the final seconds. The Pacers had a 48-47 halftime lead. Frustration was the mood for most Thunder fans at the break. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stepped up, but Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren struggled.
It felt similar to Game 1. The Thunder should've been up by a lot of points at the break. Not down by one. Especially with Haliburton out. But the Pacers wouldn't go away as the rest of the roster stepped up in their franchise player's absence.
Then the Thunder finally found their stride out of the break. Without their lead ball-handler, the league's best defense created plenty of turnovers. A bunch of steal-and-score sequences led to a signature avalanche run. The Thunder scored 34 points in the third frame to go up by double-digit points.
TJ McConnell was Indiana's only source of buckets. He got by Cason Wallace and others pretty easily. But once the Thunder shut him down, they didn't have much else. The Thunder had an 81-68 lead after the third quarter.
Nobody wanted to say it aloud, but everybody thought it. The Thunder were 12 minutes away from glory. All they needed to do was stiff-arm the Pacers long enough. Holmgren pushed OKC's lead to a game-high 90-68 with a little under eight minutes left.
Considering just how difficult points came for the Pacers, it would've taken a miracle for them to mount one last comeback. The Thunder had a few scares as Indiana cut it to as little as 10 points, but the final minutes turned into a free-throw battle that delayed the inevitable.
The Thunder shot 40% from the field and went 11-of-40 (27.5%) from 3. They shot 22-of-31 on free throws. They had 20 assists on 35 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 29 points and 12 assists. He was named the NBA Finals MVP. Williams finished with 20 points on 20 shot attempts. Holmgren had 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace each scored 10 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 41% from the field and went 11-of-28 (39.3%) from 3. They shot 22-of-29 on free throws. They had 17 assists on 29 baskets. Four Pacers players scored double-digit points.
Bennedict Mathurin led the way with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Pascal Siakam had 16 points and four rebounds. Nembhard finished with 15 points and six assists. McConnell scored 16 points. Haliburton had nine points before he was injured.
The Thunder finally did it. They won an NBA championship. And cap off one of the greatest seasons ever. From 68 wins to the best point differential ever, this season will go down in league history as one of the most dominant campaigns seen.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A
Matched up against Aaron Nesmith, Gilgeous-Alexander went for the kill. He finally swished in one of his stepback 3-pointers. The timely bucket set the tone for the rest of the fourth quarter that saw the Thunder celebrate their first championship.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 29 points on 8-of-27 shooting, 12 assists and five rebounds. He shot 2-of-12 from 3 and went 11-of-12 on free throws. He also had two blocks and a steal.
Not the prettiest performance, but Gilgeous-Alexander gutted out a Game 7 NBA Finals win. It doesn't get higher stakes than that. The Pacers looked shell-shocked once Haliburton went down. That showed in their defense against the MVP winner.
And when he didn't, Gilgeous-Alexander leveraged his gravity to help his teammates. Plenty of kick-out baskets resulted in good looks from the outside. That's how you make the opponent rethink their defensive strategies.
Like he's done all year, Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the basket and drew contact. He had a busy night at the free-throw line because of it. Only fitting he did that once again at the biggest game of his life. Cry about it, NBA Twitter users.
Gilgeous-Alexander cemented his 2024-25 season as one of the greatest ever. An NBA Finals MVP was the cherry on top.
Jalen Williams: C-plus
Receiving a pass from Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams coldly knocked down a catch-and-look attempt that sent the OKC crowd into a frenzy. That put the Thunder over 20 points and just roughly eight minutes away from their ultimate dream.
Williams finished with 20 points on 7-of-20 shooting, four rebounds and four assists. He shot 2-of-7 from 3 and went 4-of-6 on free throws. He also had two steals.
Not the most efficient outing, but Williams did enough to secure a championship. After a quiet first half, the 24-year-old stepped it up in the second half with some transition buckets to get into a groove. A 15-point second half made any first-half criticisms wash away.
With the Pacers wounded, the Thunder went all gas in the second half to create a double-digit lead. Williams helped with that with drives to the basket and mid-range jumpers he feathered in.
Chet Holmgren: B-plus
Swatting away McConnell's attempt, the Thunder had had enough of Indiana's pesky bench player. He kept the Pacers within arm's reach of the scoreboard with a flurry of buckets. Holmgren's rejection was met with a sigh of relief by the OKC crowd.
Holmgren finished with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, eight rebounds and five blocks. He shot 1-of-2 from 3 and went 5-of-8 on free throws.
After a bad first half, it looked like Holmgren would fail to leave his scoring mark on the NBA Finals. A shame too, considering what he's done in the playoffs. But a 15-point second half quickly flipped that narrative. The Pacers couldn't contain the seven-footer.
A catch-and-shoot corner attempt must've felt like lifting a billion pounds off his shoulders. He's struggled from the outside all series and entered Game 7 shooting below 12% from 3. That was a quick boost of confidence that snowballed over for the rest of the game.
This is exactly what the Thunder needed from Holmgren. He bounced back from a forgettable Game 6 and cemented himself as an OKC legend. This ring means a little more for the 23-year-old. Considering the rollercoaster of a season he had from a hip fracture that cost him three months to being a key piece to a title winner.
Alex Caruso: B
After his postgame interview, Caruso met with Daigneault behind the curtains and gave him a huge bear hug. Both have been tied to the hip with their starts on the G League's OKC Blue. Establishing himself as one of the league's best defenders in Los Angeles and Chicago, the 31-year-old's first year back at OKC finished with a championship.
Caruso finished with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, three rebounds and three steals. He shot 2-of-5 from 3.
Nobody feeds off the crowd's energy more than Caruso. He's talked about being too pumped up at times in the playoffs. To the point he needs to play calmer music to bring him back down. You can only imagine what he felt for this Game 7.
The Thunder trusted Caruso to complement the traditional four starters. He might've come off the bench, but he played the fourth-most Game 7 minutes for a reason. He started the second half in place of Hartenstein and the move paid off as they ran away in that frame.
Isaiah Hartenstein: A
Turns out, the double-big lineup is the one that won the Thunder a championship. After abandoning it for a more traditional look with Cason Wallace, OKC changed it mid-way through the series. The move paid off with a championship.
Hartenstein finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists. He shot 1-of-3 on free throws. He also had a steal.
This was the best Hartenstein has looked in the NBA Finals. He was used more often as a roller to the basket. His size and rebounding helped when the offense couldn't get out of the mud. The playmaking also shone in the biggest game of his life.
The Thunder went two-for-two from last year's offseason acquisitions. Caruso gets all the love, but Hartenstein has been a steady presence who enjoyed a career season. Fair to say his decision to leave New York for OKC paid off.
Highlights:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
29 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Bet on Thunder, Nuggets to win '25-26 NBA Finals
Drew Dinsick analyzes how the Oklahoma City Thunder's young roster makes them "the most talented team in the NBA" with a chance to win back-to-back 2025-26 NBA Finals, and why the Denver Nuggets also have a chance.
Newsweek
34 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Caitlin Clark Had No Words Following Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Injury
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Indiana Pacers suffered two tragedies on Sunday night in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. In the first quarter, they saw star point guard Tyrese Haliburton go down with what appeared to be an Achilles tear in the same leg he had been dealing with a calf strain. After that, they went on to lose and come one win short of a championship. Losing the NBA Finals was a tough enough blow. However, likely losing Haliburton for the entirety of the 2025-26 season was an even tougher pill to swallow. Unfortunately, the Pacers went from a team who were expected to be right back in the championship hunt next season to a team with a real chance of missing the playoffs in just one moment. Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers sustains an injury during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in... Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers sustains an injury during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. More Photo byFollowing the injury, Haliburton has received a lot of love and support from the players, fans, and media alike. Caitlin Clark, the superstar guard for the Indiana Fever, had no words in her reaction and message to Haliburton. Read more: NBA Receives Strong Warning Following Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles Injury Clark took to her Instagram account to send her message. She included four heart emojis and four praying hands emojis. Caitlin Clark after Tyrese Haliburton's injury 💛 — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 23, 2025 That is a similar reaction to what the entire Pacers' fan base had. It was known that Haliburton was at a high risk of an Achilles injury due to the calf strain he was dealing with. The second he went down in Game 7, fans knew what had happened. Sadly, there is nothing that can be done. Haliburton will now go through a long and grueling recovery process. There are questions about whether or not he will be able to continue playing the way that has made him so special in his career. At this time, there is no use speculating about his individual future. Indiana will have a lot of decisions to make about the team's future as a whole. Read more: Caitlin Clark Vents Frustration After Latest Fever Loss Without Haliburton, who the entire team is built around, the Pacers will have a tough time competing in the Eastern Conference. They could choose to keep the team together, or perhaps they could consider moving off of some pieces and re-tolling for the 2026-27 season and a hopeful Haliburton return. No one knows what to expect, but the offseason just got much more interesting for Indiana. Hopefully, Haliburton will be able to make a full recovery and pick up where he left off. That is far from a guarantee, but he will have no shortage of love and support pouring in for him as he rehabs and works to return to the Pacers. For more on the Indiana Pacers and general NBA news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Isaiah Hartenstein's son fast asleep on Thunder's NBA Finals podium
The post Isaiah Hartenstein's son fast asleep on Thunder's NBA Finals podium appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Oklahoma City Thunder are now NBA champions after defeating the Indiana Pacers in Game 7. It was a long series, but the Thunder were able to take care of business in a win-or-go-home situation, and it was a total team effort. All season, everyone has expected this team to be here holding up the trophy, and they didn't let anyone down. They added some major contributors last offseason to help them get to this point, and one of them was Isaiah Hartenstein. Advertisement Hartenstein was on the NBA Finals podium celebrating with his team, and he also brought along his son, who wanted to be a part of the fun as well. That fun turned into his son falling fast asleep in his arms while the team was still celebrating, and everybody got a laugh out of it. With the arena still buzzing as fans stayed to watch the trophy presentation, Hartenstein's son was still asleep. Nonetheless, Hartenstein's son will have some more opportunities to have fun with his father, because the Thunder are going to be celebrating all week. This is the franchise's first championship, and not only are the players excited, but the fans are as well. The Thunder are NBA champions After having one of the best seasons in the league this year, the Thunder were able to complete the mission and win the NBA championship. They had one of the best offenses and defenses in the league, and their group meshed well together throughout the entire year. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander proved that he was the best player all season, and has the awards to prove it, and the supporting cast did all they could to make the team even better. Advertisement Alex Caruso was one of their biggest acquisitions last offseason, and his defense was amazing throughout the postseason. He was guarding anybody that the Thunder put him on, and he made life hard for everybody. Hartenstein became a great connector for the Thunder and helped them a lot on both sides of the ball with the small details. The best thing about this team and that they grew up in real time, and many people were skeptical if they would make it this far because of inexperience. It's safe to say that they had the talent to get this far, and they got experience through this journey. Now, they're NBA champions. Related: The $293.4 million contract Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander extension is eligible for after NBA title Related: Bill Simmons disses Thunder with reaction to Tyrese Haliburton injury
