Story & Photos
By Michael Kinney
The Oklahoma City Thunder had two days to get over it. After falling in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on a last-second shot by Indiana’s Tyreese Haliburton on their home court, the Thunder had to read about the collapse for two days.
Now, all the talk, scrutiny, and second-guessing is behind them as they enter Game 2 tonight at the Paycom Center. When they step on the court tonight, they will have an opportunity to prove Thursday was just a blip on the radar on their way to making history. If not, they have much bigger issues heading to Indiana.
“The losses are a little bit louder, obviously. Like they hurt more, and you try to — like you try to get better through them,” said Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 38 points in Game 1. “And it’s a lot easier to learn from a loss than it is from a win just off of like the emotional aspect of it, and I think that’s probably why it looks the way it does.”
One of the biggest questions coming out of Game 1 was Oklahoma City’s decision to bench Isaiah Hartenstein in favor of a smaller lineup with Cason Wallace getting the nod. While coach Mark Daigneault wouldn’t announce if he planned to stick with the same lineup for Game 2, he talked about what he did see.
“What I will say is we have a lot of optionality that we draw on, almost nightly,’ Daigneault said. “If you followed our team throughout the season, I think you know that flexibility and adaptability is the only constant. We’re never staying the same. I know we started the same lineup in the playoffs, but our rotation night to night in these series has been incredibly variant. We think that’s a strength of our team. I liked how we started the game and I liked, really, everything we did to build a 15-point lead, and then we didn’t deliver down the stretch collectively.”
One of the players who will have multiple sets of eyes on him is center Chet Holmgren. After disappearing against the physical play of the Pacers in Game 1, he knows he has to be more proficient offensively.
“I feel like I could have slowed down, kind of finished some of those plays at the rim,” Holmgren. “Obviously, it hurts in a one-point loss. One single difference on one single play could have decided the whole game. Puts a magnifying glass on every single instance in the game. Everybody was feeling that on where they can be better. We have to continue to try to clean those up as the series goes on. The Pacers are going to try to be better each game, so we have to try to do the same.”
While this is Holmgren’s first trip to the finals, this is not the first time the third-year big man out of Gonzaga has had to come back in a big way after a poor outing. He missed a pair of free throws in the waning moments of a loss to Denver in the second round.
Questions about Holmgren’s mental strength began to rise to the surface and became a storyline. But they quickly disappeared after an impressive Game performance in which Oklahoma City won by 40.
“I wouldn’t say it’s any different than Game 1. Game 1 was a must-win, and we didn’t win,” Holmgren said. “Now we flip to Game 2 and it’s a must-win again. We’ve been in must-win situations in this playoff run, and honestly in the playoffs, every game feels like a must-win. You’re not saving anything in the tank for any games down the line. You kind of have to lay it all out there.”
While much of the focus heading into tonight has been on what the Thunder needs to change, the Pacers also have to make some adjustments. Even though they pulled out the victory, for most of Game 1, they were playing catch.
While Indiana appeared to physically wear down Oklahoma City in the opener, that is something they can’t rely on again.
Having a player like Pascal Siakam on the roster who brings a wealth of championship experience is invaluable in these moments. The three-time All-Star and MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals started his career winning a title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
The 31-year-old brings a wealth of experience that he can share with his Pacers squad.
“I think for me now coming back, I have a little bit more appreciation for it just because of the journey and like on understanding how hard it is, and how difficult it is to get to this level and to this point,” Siakam said. “So I think just in terms of just maturity and just knowing all the experience that I’ve been through, to get me back here, I have another level of appreciation for it. I think the level of grind and play and just grit is the same because I always had that. But I just think the level of appreciation, probably a little bit different.”
Game 2 is set to tip off at 7 p.m. on ABC.
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