A seven-point deficit entering the fourth quarter of a road game on the cusp of going down 3-1 might not be quite Carlos Alcaraz coming back from triple championship point, but it's the NBA Finals equivalent.

Alex Caruso made a jumper to start the fourth quarter. Chet Holmgren had a pair of putbacks on offensive rebounds. Jalen Williams converted a left-handed runner to quickly bring the Oklahoma City Thunder even with the Indiana Pacers at 91-91. Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first three shots of the quarter and goes to the bench for a substitution with 7:10 remaining as Mark Daigneault continues with his irregular rotation pattern.

The score seesaws with the Thunder only getting close enough to tie. Gilgeous-Alexander reenters and goes nearly two more minutes until he scores on a runner off an Isaiah Hartenstein tip out with 4:37 remaining to tie the game again at 97-97. Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams play a two-man game to create enough space for SGA to hit a three-pointer from the right wing with just under 3:00 left to make it 103-102 Indiana. The three-pointer was Oklahoma City's third and final one of Game 4.

After Andrew Nembhard is unsuccessful trying to drive past Caruso on an isolation with Holmgren also coming over to protect the rim, what would prove to be the game-winner came next as Gilgeous-Alexander drives to the left baseline and pushes Aaron Nesmith away for a step-back jumper from about 15 feet to give the Thunder their first lead of the second half.

There would be no more field goals scored for either team the rest of the way. Holmgren forced a Tyrese Haliburton airball on a three-pointer out of an iso with Indiana only down two points with 1:43 left. Andrew Nembhard had his chance next on a mid-range iso, but Holmgren contested as well on the switch to force another miss.

Gilgeous-Alexander spun away free from Nesmith on the left elbow with 44.0 seconds left and drew a foul. The Thunder were not going to lose from here playing a free throw game.

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The Pacers scored 35 points in the first quarter, 20 points in the first five minutes alone, but only 17 in the fourth and only one point in the final 3:19. The Thunder ratcheted up their defense again to a degree that only intense desperation is capable of producing.

The expectation for the series was largely that the Pacers needed to keep games close enough to steal. Indiana unequivocally stole Game 1 and plainly outplayed the Thunder in Game 3. The Pacers had to play with a lead in Game 4, but it was the Thunder who stole the game. The Pacers didn’t need to be mythical. They’ve proven to be plenty good enough to win this series on the merits, but they weren’t quite good enough for long enough. Oklahoma City's defense getting stops led to their offense freeing up in the fourth. The Pacers were shut down.

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Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, all of them coming inside the final five minutes. Eight free throws. Three buckets. The series going back to Oklahoma City 2-2 instead of the heavy favorites down 3-1.

"That was just like a great blood-and-guts win," said Daigneault after the game.

The Thunder were loose to start Game 3 and quickly realized winning this series against a special Pacers team will require some real exertion. The Thunder's regular-season success—specializing in depth around an MVP to win 68 games—required one them to be one type of basketball team, while willing a comeback win is not something you know you're capable of until you do it.