By Field Level Media
Share this story

OKLAHOMA CITY — Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander learned a lesson to open the NBA Finals.

“You can’t just throw the first punch,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. “You’ve got to throw all the punches all night.”

ADVERTISING

Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder threw plenty of haymakers, helping Oklahoma City to a 123-107 victory to even the best-of-seven series 1-1 going into Wednesday’s Game 3 in Indianapolis.

That was a departure from Game 1 last Thursday, when the Thunder led by 15 in the fourth quarter before Indiana came back to win the game 111-110 on a basket in the final second.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way on Sunday for Oklahoma City, scoring 34 with eight assists, five rebounds and four steals and went 11 of 12 on free throws.

There were plenty of areas of improvement from Game 1 for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to point out after the victory.

Oklahoma City had more success turning Indiana’s turnovers into points at the other end, got better production from Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, had nearly double the assists after posting a season-low 13 in Game 1, and got an offensive spark off the bench from Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins.

Daigneault said none of those alone were the difference maker, but all came together for a much better result for his team.

“I think we were just a little bit better in a lot of areas,” Daigneault said.

The biggest stretch of the game came in the second quarter, when the Thunder ripped off a 19-2 run that was fueled by both their defense and Gilgeous-Alexander’s finishes on the other end.

To that point, Oklahoma City’s defense hadn’t forced many turnovers and it hadn’t taken advantage of the few it had caused.

But during that big run, Gilgeous-Alexander scored seven of Oklahoma City’s last nine points — all off Pacers’ turnovers.

Indiana quickly answered with a 10-0 run to make it 52-39, but never got closer than that 13-point deficit.

The Thunder outscored the Pacers 26-12 in the paint in the first half and, for the series, now lead 88-68 in that category.