Oklahoma City took game 7 of the NBA Finals 103-91 playing nearly flawless basketball over much of the second half to wrest a tight game from Indiana. After knocking down three triples in the first quarter, Tyrese Haliburton suffered what is feared to be an Achilles-related injury, which had the potential to deflate Indiana altogether, but they were still somehow able to carry a slight lead to halftime. The Thunder shot a horrid 4-for-18 in the opening half, but surpassed those makes in their runaway third. The champions ran their lead up to as much as 18 while Indiana committed a crippling number of turnovers and wilted under the persistent pressure until a late comeback attempt.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds) performed as expected for his MVP status through the first two quarters, and then received an avalanche of clutch shooting and lockdown defense from his teammates in a dominant second half showing. His AT&T buddies recovered well from tough game 6’s - Chet Holmgren (18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks) and Jalen Williams (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) - while receiving a bench boost from Alex Caruso (10 points and 3 steals) in the beginning, and Cason Wallace (10 points and 3 steals) in the end. Lu Dort (9 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals) put any person he guarded into the Dorture chamber.

Pascal Siakam (16 points and 4 rebounds) had a promising first half, but disappeared during the third quarter thunder run. Andrew Nembhard (15 points and 6 rebounds) and reserve Benedict Mathurin (24 points and 13 rebounds) helped Indiana keep things close for 2+ quarters. TJ McConnell (16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) more than capably filled in for the absent Haliburton, who had nine points in his seven minutes of game action.

Oklahoma City started decently out of the break by forcing the Pacers’ turnover count well into the double digits. They also received the type of timely shooting that is characteristic of teams that win these tough games, with threes from Lu Dort, Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and Jalen Williams. McConnell’s flurry of driving lay-ups and floaters kept the Thunder from further expanding their lead. A 5-0 run by Cason Wallace pushed the Pacer deficit out to nine. Despite McConnell’s offensive explosion, the Thunder went to the fourth up 13.