Don’t let Tyrese Haliburton get a shot off in the closing seconds of a playoff game.
For the fourth time this postseason, Haliburton hit a game-winning shot in the final seconds. This time, it was against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that OKC led until there were 0.3 seconds left on the clock.
Outside of his last shot, Haliburton was pedestrian. He had just 14 total points and couldn’t get into the paint much until the final frame. He had six assists and 10 rebounds to complete a triple-double, but it felt like OKC had him and the Pacers in check until the last few minutes.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, on the other hand, showed up in spades. The MVP had 38 points and got wherever he wanted throughout the night. He had little help, as his co-stars scored just 23 combined points and couldn’t create their own looks throughout the night.
Lu Dort was terrific, hitting five 3s and having four steals.
The Pacers shot 46% as a team from 3 and played good defense, combating the Thunder’s efforts on that side of the ball, which forced 24 turnovers. Most of those were in the first half, though, and once the Pacers stopped turning the ball over, it was game on.
For OKC, it’s hard to internalize much from this game outside of one key thing. OKC’s role players showed up as much as they are going to. Gilgeous-Alexander played like an MVP. OKC’s defense was intense and put heavy ball pressure on the Pacers all night.
But the performances of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, who both performed well in the Western Conference Finals, were dismal. Williams’ stats look fine, but he failed the eye test. His 17 points don’t tell the story.
He missed open looks and couldn’t make the Pacers pay when he was open off Gilgeous-Alexander.
This is what the series will come down to for OKC. It’s clear that Gilgeous-Alexander is ready. It seemed like Williams was ready against Minnesota, but tonight reignites a concerning trend that has shown up in each of the last two playoffs.
Based on how these playoffs have gone, Williams will likely return to form in Game 2, but if he doesn’t, OKC’s overwhelming odds to win will end up meaning nothing.
