For the first time in franchise history, the Oklahoma City Thunder has an opportunity to bring home a Larry O’Brien Trophy as they look to close out the Indiana Pacers on the road in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. After a dominating first half in Game 5, the Thunder nearly allowed the Pacers another comeback victory as Indiana cut their deficit to 2 in the fourth quarter. Still, OKC answered in a big way as Jalen Williams recorded a game-high 40 points to go with 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 31 points, 10 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals.
The Thunder has all the momentum headed into Game 6, and Tyrese Haliburton is questionable with a strained right calf, but the game still has to be played, and OKC is still one win away from glory. All season long, they have heard about how young they are, how inexperienced they are, how they lack the toughness and grit to win an NBA Championship, etc. Now is the opportunity to finish the greatest season in Thunder history, and while OKC technically has two chances, it’d be nice if they could go ahead and take care of this one at their first chance.
Even with Haliburton at less than 100% in the last few games, the Pacers have managed to make this a competitive series. The Thunder cannot afford to take Indiana lightly, and as long as OKC can come out with the same defensive energy that they have maintained all year long, then they can trust their shots to fall accordingly, securing the win that so many fans have been dreaming about for over a decade.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Television: ABC
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Indiana Pacers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Pacers
- PG: Tyrese Haliburton
- SG: Andrew Nembhard
- SF: Aaron Nesmith
- PF: Pascal Siakam
- C: Myles Turner
Injury Report
Thunder
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
Pacers
- Tyrese Haliburton (strained right calf) is OUT.
- Isaiah Jackson (torn right Achilles tendon) is OUT.
- Jarace Walker (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 15-16 against the Pacers in the regular season (9-5 at home, 6-11 on the road) and 3-2 in the Playoffs (2-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Pacers 4 times, lost it 5 times, and tied 6 times.
- The Thunder won the season series 2-0 this season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder lead the Pacers 3-2 in the NBA Finals (2-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).