The National Basketball Association (NBA) ended on June 22, with the Oklahoma City Thunder emerging as the victors.
The Thunder beat out the Indiana Pacers 103 to 91 in a riveting game to behold.
HOW THE THUNDER BEAT THE PACERS
The game started with an electrifying atmosphere gripping the arena. The crowd stayed standing for most of this encounter. The Pacers started well with their talisman, Tyrese Haliburton, scoring his first three attempts at three-pointers. He had nine points in seven minutes.
The Pacers’ primary point guard looked on the cusp of a scorcher when he went down under his own weight and momentum. This saw the strained calf injury he had been playing on for two games worsen dramatically. He writhed in pain, mouthing the word ‘no’ as he slammed his palm against the court.
A timeout was called, and Haliburton was hauled off to the locker room, his face wrapped in a towel to conceal his tears from the cameras. We were informed that the calf strain had progressed to an Achilles tear a few minutes later. He would not return to the game.
THE INDIANA PACERS RALLIED UNTIL HALF TIME
You would think the Thunder would’ve smelled blood in the water from that moment onwards. Instead, they seemed more stunned and taken aback than the Pacers, who subbed in their backup point guard, T.J. McConnell. He helped guide his team to a one-point lead by halftime.
McConnell went ballistic in the third quarter with his high-tempo approach to the game and scored 16 points by himself in that period. He also dished out three assists and had six rebounds to go along with that. The problem was that he was the only player from Indiana scoring for a while.
In this same quarter, the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) showed why he is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and took to this high-pressure game seven as if he had done so before. This was his first-ever NBA Playoff Finals series. SGA or Shai Butter dropped 29 points and got his teammates scoring with 12 assists.
He outscored every player on the court and, once the victory was sealed, was crowned the Finals MVP for his efforts.
OKLAHOMA’S FIRST NBA CHAMPIONSHIP EVER
A little before the end of the fourth quarter, the game was over. Both coaches emptied out their benches to let the lesser-used players have a few moments in the sun as their starting players received ovations, none more so than the roster for the Thunder. The Indiana Pacers coach, the seasoned Rick Carlisle, spent most of the game incensed at the referees while Mark Daigneault was the personification of stoicism.
Daigneault wrangled the Thunder’s first championship in franchise history, since the team was moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008. Back then, the franchise was called the Seattle Sonics.
THE THUNDER BECOME THE SECOND YOUNGEST TEAM TO GO THE DISTANCE
The Thunder became the second youngest team to raise the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy behind the 1967-1977 Portland Trailblazers. This Oklahoma team has an average age of 25 years. The Thunder players were gracious in victory and expressed their heartfelt sympathies to Haliburton after his injury. They were also grateful to their fans who exhibited their electrifying passion for their team throughout this seven-game series. Home court advantage does go a long way.
TEARS AND JUBILATION MAKE FOR GREAT FINALS VIEWING
Smiles all around for the Thunder while the Pacers hung their heads, and some failed to hold back their tears of disappointment. A slightly awkward moment transpired in the tunnel to the locker rooms as a cameraman followed an inconsolable T.J. McConnell down the long hallway.
McConnell did his best to avoid the cameras as he fell into the arms of a member of the Indiana Pacers coaching staff, who scolded the cameraman for being invasive. At the end of that hallway, a stirring shot of Haliburton was taken as he awaited his teammates, extending a hand to every one of them, while on crutches.
Both these teams are very young, and if they ensure to keep their core groups together, they will be in contention again next year.
DO YOU THINK THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER AND THE INDIANA PACERS WILL BE A THREAT AGAIN, NEXT SEASON?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11.
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