NBA Notebook: Finals Recap

The lasting image of these NBA Finals will be Indiana point guard Tyrese Halliburton pounding the floor in frustration after he fell to the ground in the first quarter of Game 7. After hitting three treys in the game’s opening minutes and looking recovered from the calf injury that dogged him in Games 5 & 6, Halliburton aggravated the injury, did not return and awaits an MRI to find out if he has a torn Achilles. While the Pacers hung in the game for a half without their leader, the turnovers piled up and the third quarter got away, turning the decisive game into an Oklahoma City rout.

But as important as that moment was, the real fulcrum point of the Finals was the fourth quarter of Game 4. After stealing the series opener in a shocker, the Pacers had taken a 2-1 series lead and basically led throughout in Game 4. The heavily favored Thunder were badly on the ropes. With the money on the table, OKC took the game over. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) scored 15 points in the final period, the Thunder closed the game on a 12-1 run and pulled out a 111-104 win. The series was tied and the final three games went to chalk, with the home team winning by double digits.

It was the third consecutive series where the Thunder met a crucial challenge in a road Game 4. They had been a similar tight spot at Denver, ultimately winning a grind-it-out game. Oklahoma City turned back a spirited challenge from Minnesota in Game 4, preventing that series from getting close. And the Thunder effectively survived the Finals at the same key point.

Looking at the series in the aggregate, turnovers were the difference. The two teams shot the ball more or less the same, within a percentage point of each other for field goal percentage and from behind the arc. They rebounding was consistently even. But the Pacers committed 120 turnovers against just 88 for the Thunder—a difference of nearly five per game. And a 23-8 turnover edge was what fueled Oklahoma City’s 103-91 win in Game 7, as they foced eight of the miscues in the decisive third quarter of the finale.

Oklahoma City also got to the line more consistently. They got 241 free throw attempts against 186 for Indiana, an edge that translated into a 35-point scoring edge (5 per game). Before one presumes officiating bias, it’s worth noting that the Thunder took fewer three-point shots, something that’s often a bellwether for more free throws.

SGA was the Finals MVP. He was an easy choice, averaging 30ppg and delivering his team in the pivotal fourth quarter of Game 4. But he only shot 44 percent, and was a woeful 24 percent from three-point range. He deserved the individual honor, but no one single player was really dominant. Pascal Siakam was probably the most consistent, as the Pacer forward shot 45 percent, averaged 20 points/7 rebounds and hit a lot of big shots. But Indiana was ultimately defined by its balance, with seven players averaging in double figures and bench scoring routinely being a key to their victories.

In the end, this series was one of the best Finals we’ve seen in a long time. It was the first seven-game affair since 2016 and the most consistently dramatic since 2013. It’s too bad the Halliburton injury overshadowed the finale, because a pair of small market teams from Middle America gave the country something good.

With the NBA and NHL postseasons now in the rearview mirror, we’ll be taking a brief break from this space for a few weeks. But plenty is coming up—pretty soon it will be time for baseball updates and our preparation for football season is right around the corner.