Oklahoma City Thunder Win First Championship in Franchise History with 103-91 Game 7 Victory over IndianaPacers

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In 2011-2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder went 47-19 in the lockout-shortened season and made the NBA Finals for the first time. After winning Game 1, the Thunder lost the remaining four to the Miami Heat. 

The Thunder had not been back to the Finals until this season, a 68-win team in 2024-25 that was ranked fourth in points per game (120.5) and third in points given up (107.6). The Thunder were (are) a well built team with defensive wings (Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace), a go-to clutch scorer (MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and two big guys in Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein who are great athletes and defend and can rebound. Jalen Williams provided the Robin to Gilgeous-Alexander’s Batman. Isaiah Joe is a sniper off the bench.

The Indiana Pacers had not been back to the NBA Finals since the year 2000. They too are a well built team with a prototype point guard (Tyrese Haliburton), defensive wings in Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, a forward scorer in Pascal Siakam, and a center in Myles Turner who can shoot and block shots. Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell are both lightning bolts off the bench. 

The 50-win Pacers were a Cinderella team all season and all throughout the playoffs, and to a lot of people it was a wonder how they made it to Game 7. Gritty. Tenacious. Togetherness. They are a team that has it. Haliburton is their big shot taker and big shot maker. 

With 6:58 remaining in the first quarter of Game 7 on Sunday night, Haliburton hit his third 3-pointer of the game to give the Indiana Pacers a 14-10 lead. 9 points for Haliburton and a 4-of-6 start from distance for the Pacers. 

With 4:55 remaining in the first quarter, Haliburton planted and attempted to make a move on Gilgeous-Alexander. Haliburton planted his left foot and as he placed his right leg back to push off and attack, something visibly popped in his right leg. The star laid on the court in agony. Haliburton would not return to the game, and the Pacers gave a championship effort in the loss. 

At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder led 25-22, with Siakam having scored 7 points on 3-of-6 shooting. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 8 in the first quarter on 3-of-6 shooting. 

In the second, Mathurin tied the game at 25 with a 3-pointer, and Siakam hit one free-throw off of a drive and foul to give the Pacers a 26-25 lead. Nesmith connected from distance at the 7:45 mark to make the score 32-32, before a mid-range make from Gilgeous-Alexander gave him 12 points. Moments later, a triple from Mathurin and free-throws were part of a 9-2 Pacer run that made the score 45-42. To close out the half, Nembhard hit a stepback triple. The Pacers led 48-47 after two quarters. Nembhard had 9 points in the opening half, Siakam 10, and Mathurin had 8. Gilgeous-Alexander had 16 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds. The Thunder had committed just four turnovers, the Pacers eight.  

McConnell erupted in the third quarter, sparking the Pacers just as he did in Game 5 when he scored 18 points. After a Gilgeous-Alexander triple that was part of a 9-0 Thunder run to take a 65-56 lead, McConnell was getting into the paint again and scoring from the mid-range. At one point, he scored 10 consecutive points for the Pacers and they trailed 70-66. A Wallace triple gave the Thunder some breathing room at 73-66, and a steal and layup by Wallace made the score 75-66. With 2:20 on the clock, the Thunder defense forced an eight-second violation. It was the eighth turnover in the quarter by the Pacers. Williams scored on a left-handed layup (77-66) before McConnell hit a jump shot once again. The last twelve points for the Pacers at this time were courtesy of McConnell. 

At the end of the third quarter, the Thunder led 81-68. Their defense had picked up in the quarter and they scored 18 points off turnovers in the third. Gilgeous-Alexander, despite 7-of-19 and 1-of-8 from downtown, had 22 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds through three quarters. The Thunder had committed just four turnovers all game, the Pacers fifteen. 

Oklahoma City widened the gap in the fourth, going on a 19-2 run going back to the the 3:53 mark of the third quarter to take an 89-68 lead after a Williams’ triple. 

Mathurin single-handedly fought his way to the free-throw line and sprung the Pacers back in the game. He made the score 91-79 on a driving finish with 4:47 on the clock. On one play going for a loose ball, he landed awkwardly, favoring his hand the rest of the way. On a drive against Dort, Mathurin could not break his fall and also landed square on his side. Still, he remained persistent in attacking. An impressive showing from him in defeat - 24 points, 13 rebounds, 6-of-14 shooting and 10-of-10 from the line. A tough player. McConnell finished 8-of-13 for 16 points. The pair is a big reason why the Pacers made it to the Finals. 

Siakam scored 16 points but made just 5-of-13 shots, and Nembhard scored 15 points but was just 4-of-10 shooting. 

Finals MVP Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points with 12 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks but was just 8-of-27 from the field and 2-of-12 from distance. He did make 11-of-12 free-throws. Williams scored 20 points but was 7-of-20 shooting. Holmgren posted 18 points with 8 rebounds and 5 blocks on 6-of-8 shooting and 5-of-8 from the line. 

The Thunder shot 40.2%, made 11-of-40 from 3-point range and 22-of-31 from the line. The Pacers shot 41.4%, 11-of-28 from distance, and 22-of-29 from the line. Despite a shooting edge and rebounding edge (45-40), they turned the ball over twenty-one times to the Thunder’s seven, which was one of the biggest reasons that the Thunder won the game. 

Heading into Sunday, both teams were at full strength. But with Haliburton’s injury, the Pacers were a man down, and still put up a challenge. The Thunder just had a little too much. Too much scoring and too much defense for the Pacers to handle on this night. 

With his series MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander is the eleventh player to win regular season MVP and Finals MVP in the same season. He joins Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and LeBron James as players to accomplish the feat. He also joins Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, and O’Neal as the only players to win the scoring title, regular season MVP and Finals MVP in the same year. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.3 points, 5.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.6 blocks in the Finals. His 3,172 combined regular season and playoff points are the most since Jordan.

The Thunder will have a very similar squad back next season, with no expiring contracts. For the Pacers, Turner is a free-agent, but it is expected that he will be back. In January, Jovan Buha of the Athletic wrote that Turner will seek over $30 million. He gives you blocked shots and is a 3-point shooter, but his rebounding should be better. Still, he is a good option for the team going forward. At 29 years old, he is the longest tenured Pacer, drafted 11th overall in 2015. 

Haliburton’s recovery from his right Achilles tear (confirmed by his father postgame) is obviously crucial, and it is too bad that such a talented player and budding star did not get the chance to finish out Game 7. The Pacers will have to make due without him until he can return. 

For the Pacers, 2024-25 can be summed up by exceeding expectations. No one expected the team to make the Finals, yet they were present and put forth an outstanding effort. They are a great team and proved that they belonged with the best. Proved that they are one of the best. For the Thunder, 2024-25 can be viewed as realized expectations, the team with the league’s best record fulfilling its goal.