Game on the line. A chance to even the series or go down 3-1.
In the biggest moment of its season, OKC called on the MVP.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
June 14, 2025
MVP Takes Over: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s dominant close helps OKC go home tied 2-2
Imposing Its Will: How OKC flipped the 4th quarter into a season-defiining W
Instant Classic: After a thrilling 1st 4 games, this Finals is poised for a fantastic finish
On The Ground: SGA’s pregame ritual, an electric Indy crowd & courtside for OKC’s win
Unforgettable: Reliving the shot that sealed six for Michael Jordan and the Bulls
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Back to OKC…
With the Finals tied 2-2, the series shifts back to Oklahoma City for a pivotal Game 5 on Monday (8:30 ET, ABC).
Reads Of The Day: Catch up on some of the top stories from around the NBA world after a thrilling Game 4.
- Yahoo Sports: SGA leads late OKC rally to stun Pacers, tie NBA Finals at 2-2
- The Athletic: Thunder flip the script against comeback-king Pacers, rally in 4th to tie NBA Finals
- ESPN: SGA dazzles in 4th as Thunder rally to win Game 4
- Indy Star: Three observations from Pacers’ Game 4 defeat
1. SGA TAKES OVER LATE, THUNDER EVEN FINALS
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Down 10 late in the 3rd, on the road, staring down a potential 3-1 deficit in front of a rocking Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Thunder were on their heels.
But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his squad remained cool. They didn’t panic. They just began chipping away at the Pacers’ lead.
- After two big buckets from Jalen Williams, a pair of putbacks from Chet Holmgren, and a steal leading to a free throw from Alex Caruso, OKC pulled even midway through the 4th and were down by two as the game entered clutch time
- Looking to avoid a deficit that only one team in Finals history has ever recovered from (in 38 tries), the Thunder looked to the MVP with the game on the line and Shai responded with a historic finish
Thunder 111, Pacers 104: SGA scored 15 of his game-high 35 points in the final 4:38 – including a wing 3 and a stepback baseline jumper on back-to-back possessions that put OKC up for good – as the Thunder closed the game on a 12-1 run to even the Finals at 2-2. | Recap
- One Of A Kind: Shai’s 15 points are the most by any player in the final five minutes of any Finals game since 1971
- First Time Ever: Shai (35 pts, 3 reb, 3 stl) posted his third game this series with 30+ points and 3+ steals – the most such games in a single Finals in NBA history
- “He definitely showed who he is tonight,” said OKC coach Mark Daigneault of SGA
- “We needed it, we had no choice. We didn’t want to go back home down 3-1. Gutsy win… That’s what it’s about this time of year, doing whatever it takes,” said SGA as he exited the arena
Shai is no stranger to putting up points. Friday marked his 32nd game this season (reg+post) with 35+ points – 10 more games than any player.
But this was not a typical SGA game. He entered clutch time with 20 points on 9-of-21 FG – having missed six straight – as Indiana pressured him all night, picking him up full court, playing with physicality, sending timely double teams and closing off driving lanes.
- “He really didn’t have it going a lot of the night. He was laboring. We had a hard time shaking him free. For him to be able to flip the switch like that and get the rhythm he got just speaks to how great of a player he is,” said Daigneault
- “I just tried to be aggressive. … I didn’t want to go out not swinging. I didn’t want to go out not doing everything I could do in my power, in my control to try to win the game. The guys deserve that much from me,” said Shai
The Thunder are the 2nd youngest Finals team ever, but played with a level of poise and control down the stretch that is well beyond their years.
They played desperate but not frantic.
And it started with the 26-year-old MVP.
- “Same demeanor as always. You really wouldn’t know whether he’s up three, down three, up 30, down 30, eating dinner on a Wednesday. He’s pretty much the same guy,” said Daigneault of the unflappable SGA
- “We’ve seen it before from him. We know that that’s the type of player he is,” said Holmgren of Shai scoring 15 of OKC’s final 16 points. “As much as I am impressed, I’m not surprised.”
The Thunder win evens the series as the Finals shift back to Oklahoma City for a crucial Game 5 on Monday (8:30 ET, ABC).
How important is Monday night? Teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 Finals have gone on to win the series 74.2% of the time (23-8).
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
“They really outplayed us in the 4th quarter,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault on the Pacers in Game 3. “They played with great energy. They were physical. And they sustained it.”
“Now, we need to impose our style and our will … we need to be who we are.”
With their backs against the wall, OKC answered the call, again.
- Flipping The Script: After being outscored 100-73 in the 4th quarters of Games 1-3, OKC found itself down 87-80 entering the final frame of Game 4
- Road Resolve: But inside a raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse – against a Pacers team that had lost just seven home games since Jan. 1 – the Thunder flipped that seven-point deficit into a seven-point win
- Clutch Clampdown: That effort started defensively, as OKC held Indy – which entered Friday with a Playoff-best 9-1 clutch record – to 17 points in the 4th, tied for its lowest total all season, and just 1 point in final 3:19
- “We were able to get stops,” said SGA on the rally. “We played with desperation to end the game and that’s why we won … We were able to play our game.”
Championship DNA: Leading all teams in steals and points off turnovers this season, perhaps nobody embodied ‘OKC’s game’ on Friday more than Alex Caruso – the only Thunder to play in a previous Finals.
And in the biggest game of the season so far, the oldest player in OKC’s rotation (31) and former 2020 NBA champion delivered.
- Steady Hand: While hounding Tyrese Haliburton alongside Lu Dort, Caruso posted a game-high 87.9 DefRtg (min. 12 minutes played) and tied a Playoff career-high with five steals
- Two-Way Punch: He turned those five steals into 20 points (7-9 FG) on the other end – his second 20-piece of the Finals after recording zero in the regular season
- One Of One: Caruso is the first player to record 20+ points and 5+ steals off the bench in a Finals game since steals were first tracked in 1973-74
- “He’s just our glue,” said Jalen Williams. “He’s able to figure out what we need and be that.”
Maddie Meyer + Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Lightning Jolt: Caruso’s veteran poise was met with youthful force – not just from SGA, but from his two co-stars, as Williams and Chet Holmgren imposed themselves through aggression and grit, matching Pacer punch after Pacer punch.
- Downhill JDub: Williams attacked from the jump, setting the tone with 12 1st quarter points en route to a series-high 27
- All Night Attack: And he did it with zero 3s. All eight of his field goals came below the foul line, including five buckets inside the restricted area
- No Quit: Holmgren rolled his ankle early but kept battling – especially on the boards – finishing with 14 points, 15 rebounds and a +14, tied with Caruso for the game’s best plus/minus
Unafraid, Unshakeable: Now, the youngest team to reach the Finals in 48 years owns a resume of responding nearly unrivaled in NBA history.
- OKC is now 18-2 this season following a loss – a record only matched by the 1986-87 NBA champion Lakers
- That includes a 6-0 mark in the Playoffs. The only other team unbeaten following a loss this postseason? The Pacers (5-0)
- “It’s a dogfight every time we step on the floor,” said SGA postgame. “Whoever imposes their will best this series will come out on top – and that’s our goal.”
3. INSTANT CLASSIC: 2025 FINALS OFF TO SCINTILLATING START
Just four games into the 2025 NBA Finals and the series has already delivered:
- One game-winning shot in the final second
- Three separate 4th-quarter comebacks
- Three games featuring clutch time
- Two All-NBA stars having supernova performances
- Two rabid fan bases desperate to fuel their team to a title
- Two young, deep teams playing with pace on offense and a swarming effort on defense
A battle of the league’s top two teams — and the second-youngest Finals ever — has been loaded with fireworks, and looks poised for a fantastic finish.
- Game 1: The Cardiac Pacers strike in the Finals, pulling off their record 5th 15+ point comeback of the Playoffs, capped by Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winner with 0.3 seconds left to stun the Thunder
- Game 2: The MVP strikes back, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivering a masterpiece (34 pts, 8 ast, 5 reb, 4 stl) to lift the Thunder to an emphatic win to tie the series 1-1 in OKC
- Game 3: Hosting its first Finals game in 25 years, an electric Indy crowd gets a night for the ages, fueling another Pacers rally behind the bench duo of T.J. McConnell (10 pts, 5 ast, 5 stl) and Bennedict Mathurin (27 pts)
- Game 4: In danger of falling down 3-1 in the series, SGA scores 15 of OKC’s final 16 points in the last five minutes as the Thunder had their turn at a comeback win to even the Finals at 2-2
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
There’s an adage in boxing that “styles make fights,” and the same can be said many times for a basketball series.
- The 2025 Finals is on track to post the second-fastest pace (99.75) of any Finals on record (dating back to 1997). By comparison, the average of the past 28 years is 90.68 possessions per 48 minutes
- Dynamic Defense: This has been far from just a track meet. Both teams utilize elite defense to fuel their offense while doing everything in their power to slow the opposing squad’s stars
- All-NBA Clash: The matchup between Haliburton and SGA has seen each star deliver a clutch performance (Tyrese in Game 1, Shai in Game 4) and an all-around gem (SGA’s 34-8-5-4 in Game 2, Haliburton’s 22-9-11 in Game 3)
- Rising Stars: With a combined average age of 26.3, this is the second-youngest Finals matchup since 1955, but the stage hasn’t been too big for the likes Jalen Williams (22.3 ppg), Chet Holmgren (13.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg), Mathurin (13.5 ppg, 57.7% FG) and Andrew Nembhard (10.8 ppg)
What’s Next: Tied 2-2 through four games, it’s best-of-three from this point on, with Game 5 back in Oklahoma City on Monday. Which team will move one win away from claiming the Larry O’Brien Trophy?
4. ALL-ACCESS: ON THE GROUND FOR A CRUCIAL THUNDER WIN
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Before dropping another Finals gem, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made sure to circle back and sign one last autograph.
“I’m gonna bring this back,” he told a young fan while borrowing her pen. And he did – just as he would bring his team back hours later.
Locked in, loose and leading the Thunder through enemy territory, SGA stuck to his pregame routine – steady as ever while Gainbridge Fieldhouse buzzed with anticipation.
- Bright Lights: Shades on, SGA strolled into Gainbridge Fieldhouse cool and confident, while Tyrese Haliburton arrived buttoned up
- Family Reminders: Before hitting the floor, Haliburton shared a special moment with Obi Toppin’s daughter
- Quiet Before The Storm: A behind-the-scenes glimpse of Haliburton and SGA warming up in front of empty seats – getting ready for basketball’s biggest stage
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
As the fans poured in, Gainbridge came alive. Energy pulsed throughout the arena – and Game 4 was underway.
- Legends In The House: Pacers greats Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson, Jalen Rose and Travis Best took in the electric atmosphere alongside 17,000+ Hoosiers
- Indy Erupts: Step inside Gainbridge to hear the Pacers faithful pop as Haliburton drains a 31-foot triple
- Postgame Pulse: Join Alex Caruso, SGA and the Thunder moments after the buzzer as they soak in a crucial win
- Advice For The Rook: “We just kept fighting,” Isaiah Hartenstein told Player Correspondent and Bulls wing Matas Buzelis postgame “That’s the biggest thing, especially in the Finals.”
- Tunnel Vision: “Three games series,” said Caruso as he walked off. “They stole one, we stole one. Best of three, we’ll see what happens”
5. UNFORGETTABLE: THE SHOT THAT SEALED SIX FOR JORDAN’S BULLS
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It’s an image etched into basketball lore – Michael Jordan, airborne, holding the follow-through and watching his jumper fall through the net with 5.2 seconds left in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
With a 3-2 series lead and the Bulls trailing by one to the Jazz, Chicago needed one more stop – and one more shot – to clinch its sixth championship in eight years.
Jordan delivered both.
First came the steal – a perfectly timed swipe on Karl Malone in the post. Then, the walk-off. Jordan calmly brought the ball up the floor, isolated Bryon Russell, drove hard to his right, stopped, crossed and elevated for a 20-foot jumper.
Splash. 87-86, Bulls.
It was the final shot Jordan took as a Chicago Bull – a signature dagger that sealed Chicago’s second three-peat and, in his view, punctuated the most hard-fought title of them all.
“We had to come in and play our best … I think of all the championships that we’ve won, this is the toughest…
“It was a long road. A lot of different tasks and bumps in the road but somehow we made it. And I think everybody who looks at this year is going to have a lot of gratification.”
Relive Game 6 of the 1998 Finals with cinematic, never-seen-before footage of one of the NBA’s most iconic games.
