The NBA Finals is now a best-of-three series after the Oklahoma City Thunder took Game 4 by a score of 111-104. They were led in scoring by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 35 points, while the leading scorer for the Pacers was Pascal Siakam with 20 points.
The first quarter started with the Oklahoma City Thunder making a change to their starting lineup. They benched Cason Wallace and started a second big in Isaiah Hartenstein alongside Chet Holmgren, finding quick success.
The Pacers began the game with quick ball movement and touch passes. They worked the high-post offense to perfection with Myles Turner. Turner would either pull the elbow jumper or find the open man in the corner for the three. The Pacers shot 5-9 in the first half from the corner.
The key defensively for Indiana in the first quarter was the play of Pascal Siakam. He recorded four steals and began the fast-break offense because of the tenacious defensive effort. It was this type of play that led to the Pacers being up by one at the end of the first quarter.
The game got much more tense in the second quarter. Indiana began defending Shai and Wallace for 94 feet, forcing them to exert more effort on the offensive end. However, poor shot selection and sloppy ball movement in the second quarter by the Pacers led to the Thunder taking an early lead.
The game came to a slight boil halfway through the second quarter after what was deemed to be a flagrant foul by Obi Toppin on Alex Caruso. Toppin and Hartenstein began shoving, and that seemed to ratchet up the intensity. Toppin has been pivotal for the Pacers in the last two games because of his efficiency on offense, his aggressiveness on the glass, and his intensity on the defensive end. Ultimately, the Pacers led by three at the end of the first half.
The third quarter started the same way the first two did, with another Siakam steal and fast break attempt. The Pacers would turn it up the aggressiveness on both ends and would open up a seven-point lead about halfway through the quarter. After a tense moment between Siakam and Alex Caruso, Siakam’s passion started to come out.
After posting a plus/minus of -10 in the first half, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander began to play harder on the defensive end. He also went back to his signature mid-range jumpshot to get the Thunder back on track. When he gets to that shot, there are very few who can defend it. The Thunder cut the lead down to two, but Toppin hit two consecutive threes to push the lead back to eight.
The Thunder have not helped their cause, trailing by seven heading into the fourth quarter on 2-14 shooting from behind the arc. Both teams were showing a focused effort of getting to the rim, as they both would struggle from behind the arc. The Pacers would take the lead by up to three after an attack of the rim by Tyrese Haliburton sent him to the free throw line with three minutes left.
The Thunder took the lead by one after a baseline jumper from Gilgeous-Alexander. After two straight turnovers, the Thunder had the ball with a chance to extend their lead, but Jalen Williams would miss an open jumper to give the ball back to Indiana. However, ultimately, the Thunder made plays down the stretch to send this series back to Oklahoma City.
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