Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers was defined by Tyrese Haliburton's devastating Achilles injury in the first quarter. Facing a gut-wrenching injury to their star player, the Pacers held strong and took a one-point lead into the half.
Oklahoma City's defense was too much to overcome, though, as the Thunder prevailed 103–91 to win the franchise's first title since they moved from Seattle. The Thunder forced 23 turnovers and scored 32 points off those cough ups, compared to eight forced turnovers by the Pacers for only 10 points in return.
Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace led Oklahoma City with three steals apiece and Jalen Williams added two of his own. Chet Holmgren blocked five shots, the most by any player in a Game 7 in NBA Finals history.
Although T.J. McConnell provided much-needed scoring in the third quarter without Haliburton, he turned the ball over seven times, the team high for Indiana. Obi Toppin had the second-most turnovers with four, while every other Pacer except Thomas Bryant and Johnny Furphy (who played one minute each) turned the ball over at least once.
The heart-wrenching injury to Haliburton put the Pacers in a massive hole. Without their star and main offensive initiator, Indiana needed to take care of the ball throughout the game to have a shot to come out on top at the end of Game 7.
The Thunder defense—which posted the best defensive rating over the postseason (106) and regular season (106.6)—deserves all of the credit. In the end, the combination of their stout defense paired with the incredible scoring of NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander resulted in their first championship in Oklahoma City. The banner counts even if Sunday's Game 7 was dampened by Haliburton's early injury.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as One Stat Summed Up Thunder's Game 7 Win Over Pacers to Claim First NBA Title.
