INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The run lasted about 12 minutes, roughly the span of a full quarter. When it started, Oklahoma City was down by just one point. And when it ended, plans for Game 7 were being made.
There was no championship celebration for the Thunder on Thursday night — and their first chance at winning these NBA Finals was a colossal dud. Oklahoma City got blown out 108-91 by the Indiana Pacers in Game 6, sending the series back to the Thunder’s home floor for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday night.
The margin didn’t reflect how one-sided the game was. Indiana led by as many as 31, the second-biggest lead a team has held over Oklahoma City all season.
“From our standpoint, it was uncharacteristic,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It was disappointing. It was collective. It wasn’t one guy. Just we were not where we needed to be on either end of the floor for much of the game. We have to be a lot better before Game 7.”
It was 34-33 Indiana with about four minutes gone in the second quarter. And about four minutes into the third quarter, it was 70-42 Indiana — the game having completely gotten away from the Thunder.
The run was 36-9 — repeat, 36-9 — and just like that, a team that won 68 games in the regular season and finished with the best record in the NBA has been pushed to the brink by an Indiana team that finished 18 games back of the Thunder in the league standings.
They’re even now: The series is 3-3, and it all comes down to Sunday.
“We have to be better at course correcting, getting ourselves back on the right track,” Thunder forward Chet Holmgren said. “I, personally, could be better in trying to help us get things going in the right way.”
During that 36-9 run, the Thunder were offensively inept: They shot 3 for 18 during those minutes, with seven turnovers in there to make matters even worse.
The rest of the numbers were bad as well:
— Oklahoma City had 21 turnovers to Indiana’s 11.
— The Thunder were outscored 45-24 from 3-point range.
— Indiana turned 11 offensive rebounds into 14 points, while Oklahoma City had only four offensive rebounds for six points.
— The Pacers had 22 fast-break points to Oklahoma City’s 11.
If there was any question about how difficult it is to get a closeout win in the NBA Finals, the Thunder got their answer.
“It was hard tonight,” Daigneault said. “Indiana was great and we were not. We have the same opportunity Indiana does on Sunday. Score will be 0-0 when the ball goes up in the air.”
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