OKC won 83% of its regular season games for a reason: They are really good!
Winning Game 2 with ease, the Thunder established a 20-point lead at the beginning of the second quarter and maintained distance from the Pacers throughout the game, winning 123-107. NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points and added five rebounds, eight assists, and four steals. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams contributed 34 points together, while Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins came off the bench to score 20 and 18 points, respectively.
The Pacers’ giant killer, Tyrese Haliburton, had 17 points. Still, he was bothered by the aggressive defense played by a switching set of the OKC wings, namely, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and Caruso, which resulted in five turnovers. “That is who they are defensively,” Haliburton said.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on how to beat the Pacers: You can’t just throw the first punch. You’ve got to try to throw all the punches all night.”
Sunday’s performance marked SGA’s second 30+ point game in the Finals, and Indianapolis is struggling to contain him, despite deploying multiple defensive sets. That challenge is made more difficult because of SGA’s strong supporting cast, particularly Caruso and Wiggins, who are contributing significantly on both ends of the court.
The Series, now tied, moves to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4, starting Wednesday night and continuing on Friday. Because the teams split the opening two games of the series, at least one more game will be played in OKC, and it will take place a week from today, Monday, June 16.
