Thunder beat Pacers to win NBA Finals

After defeating the Indiana Pacers in game seven of the play-off finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander captained the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA Championship.

The Canadian, who is 26 years old, defeated the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Oklahoma to win the series, marking the first time the finals had featured a deciding seventh game since 2016 and saw the Canadian, who scored 29 points and had 12 assists.

The NBA Finals MVP named him, making him the fourth player to achieve the rare treble in a single season to add to his record-breaking scoring and MVP award from the regular season.

Just seven minutes into the game, key player Tyrese Haliburton suffered a leg injury while he slipped and fell while trying to get to the basket, but the Pacers still held a close 48-47 lead at half-time.

The Thunder, however, outscored them 34-20 in the third quarter and extended the lead to as many as 22 points (90-68) in the fourth, making them the youngest team to win an NBA Finals title since the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977 with an average age of 25. 6.

There are just so many hours, so many moments, so many emotions, and so many nights of disbelief, Gilgeous-Alexander said.

“The fact that we are all here is crazy.” However, this group put in the effort, put in the hours, and we deserved it.

It made it so much easier because of our closeness both on and off the court, and how much fun we have. It gave the impression that we were playing basketball as kids. It was a lot of fun.

Just four years after recording only 22 victories in a Covid-shortened 2020-21 campaign, the Thunder’s first under coach Mark Daigneault, who took over in November 2020, finished with a franchise-record 68-win campaign.

The 40-year-old has overseen a dramatic change of fortunes that saw the Thunder triumph last season with a play-off appearance. “They act like champions, they compete like champions,” said the 40-year-old.

They support one another’s success, which is unusual in professional sports. This is a rare team, and they are now champions, as I’ve said it before and will say it again.

The Pacers dealt a cruel blow when Haliburton left after three three-pointers in the opening five minutes of the game.

The 25-year-old point guard had been playing through a right calf strain in Game 5, but he screamed in pain as he fell to the ground and needed to be helped off the court.

Rick Carlisle, the coach for the Pacers, said, “All of our hearts dropped when it happened with Tyrese, and he was a member of a group that believed they could do this.”