Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished off his MVP season with 29 points, 12 assists, and a Finals MVP nod, as the Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA championship, pulling away in the second half to beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91.
Jalen Williams scored 20 and Chet Holmgren had 18 for the Thunder, who were pushed to a Game 7 brink in the NBA Finals — but finished off a season for the ages. Oklahoma City won 84 games between the regular season and the play-offs, tying the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third-most in any season.
Only Golden State (88 in 2016-17) and the Bulls (87 in 2015-16) won more.
It's the second championship for the franchise. The Seattle SuperSonics won the NBA title in 1979 and the team was moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. There's nothing in the rafters in Oklahoma City to commemorate that title.
Next October, a championship banner is finally coming. A Thunder banner.
It was not easy to secure.
The Pacers led 48-47 at the half even after losing star guard Tyrese Haliburton to what his father said was an achilles tendon injury about seven minutes into the game. But they were outscored 34-20 in the third quarter as the Thunder built a 13-point lead and began to run away.
Bennedict Mathurin had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, which is still waiting for its first NBA title. The Pacers — who were 10-15 after 25 games and were bidding to be the first team in NBA history to turn that bad of a start into a championship — had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the series, but they simply didn't have enough in the end.
Home teams are now 16-4 in NBA Finals Game 7s. And the Thunder became the seventh champion in the last seven seasons, a run of parity like none other in NBA history.
Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was part of the Toronto team that won in 2019, Thunder guard Alex Caruso was part of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won in the pandemic "bubble" in 2020, Milwaukee won in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Pacers forward Thomas Bryant and Denver prevailed in 2023, and Boston won last year's title.
The Thunder are the ninth franchise to win a title in NBA commissioner Adam Silver's 12 seasons leading the league. His predecessor, David Stern, saw eight franchises win titles in his 30 seasons as commissioner.
Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player in 25 years to claim the regular season MVP, the scoring title, and the Finals MVP, following in Shaquille O'Neal's giant footsteps in 2000.
'Heartbreak' for Haliburton and the Pacers
Haliburton was starting a move toward the basket, and his right leg didn't seem to move with him.
And the ensuing scene was heartbreaking for the Pacers.
Haliburton — who was playing with a strained right calf — tumbled to the court in a heap, immediately began punching the floor in frustration and needed to be helped to the locker room.
John Haliburton, Tyrese's father, told ABC late in the first half it was an achilles tendon injury, as the replays of the play clearly indicated. An MRI is still likely to confirm that, but there are simple tests — without a need for imaging — that doctors typically use to determine whether there is a serious injury to the tendon.
Haliburton put no weight on the leg and had his face wrapped in towels as he was taken to the Pacers' locker room for evaluation.
Virtually the entire Indiana playing, coaching and medical staff surrounded him on the court once he got hurt. Even Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander quickly went over, touched Haliburton on the head as the Pacers guard lay face-down on the court and offered a kind word.
"It's a heartbreak, man," Pacers centre Myles Turner told ABC during an in-game interview after the opening period.
"It's unfortunate … but we've got his back."
AP
