Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder to convincing Game 2 win, tie series with Pacers
Game 3 is Wednesday at Indianapolis, in what will be the first finals game in that city in 25 years.
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Gilgeous-Alexander's first basket of the night was a history-maker: It gave him 3,000 points on the season, including the regular season and playoffs. And later in Game 2, he passed New York's Jalen Brunson (514) as the leading overall scorer in these playoffs.
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But the real milestone for the MVP came a couple hours later, when he and most everybody else on the Thunder got a finals win for the first time.
A 19-2 run in the second quarter turned what was a six-point game into a 23-point Thunder lead. It might have seemed wobbly a couple of times — an immediate 10-0 rebuttal by the Pacers made it 52-39, and Indiana was within 13 again after Andrew Nembhard's layup with 7:09 left in the third — but the Thunder lead was never in serious doubt.
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With the noise level in the building often topping 100 decibels — a chainsaw is 110 dB, for comparison purposes — the Thunder did what they've done pretty much all season. They came off a loss, this time a 111-110 defeat in Game 1, and blew somebody out as their response.
Including the NBA Cup title game, which doesn't count in any standings, the Thunder are now 18-2 this season when coming off a loss. Of those 18 wins, 12 have been by double digits.
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USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Player grades: Thunder bounce back with 123-107 Game 2 win over Pacers
Player grades: Thunder bounce back with 123-107 Game 2 win over Pacers OKLAHOMA CITY — As Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren checked out for the last time, the star trio was met with loud applause by the OKC crowd. Seeing the third-stringers play out the final minutes has been a growing tradition this year. The Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed a 123-107 Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers. The 2025 NBA Finals are now tied at 1-1 through the first two games. That's despite the latter only holding the lead for a little under two minutes in 96 minutes. Much like Game 1, the Thunder had a strong start. They held a 26-20 lead after the first quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander played within the flow and Holmgren already exceeded his first game production in just the opening frame. While the vibes were good, the Pacers stuck around. The Thunder then created space on the scoreboard. An extended 35-9 run ballooned their lead to 23 points. This time, the bench added to the advantage. Alex Caruso put fear in the heart of Indiana. Aaron Wiggins' shot creation was unreal. And Kenrich Williams was a surprise wildcard who stepped up. Even Isaiah Hartenstein looked better off the bench as the Thunder ran their double-big lineup. The Thunder scored 33 points in the frame. They entered halftime with a 59-41 lead. Not bad. Maybe it could've been more. The Pacers had a 10-0 run in the second quarter to keep it within distance. But a near-20-point lead is a truer tale of how these first two games have played out. If they wanted another miracle, the Pacers needed a quick start. Time was running out. Instead, the Thunder were fine with exchanging buckets. Indiana never seriously threatened to make a historic comeback ala Game 1. OKC scored 34 points in the third frame to create a 93-74 advantage. From that point on, the Thunder were cool going back and forth. Whenever Aaron Nesmith made a ridiculous outside shot, Gilgeous-Alexander sliced through Indiana's defense on the other end. No last-second shenanigans were left for the Pacers. Both teams eventually cleared their benches. While the Pacers did their job with a road split, the Thunder have thoroughly looked like the better squad besides a late-game Game 1 meltdown. Sounds eerily similar to how the Denver Nuggets' series played out. The Thunder shot 49% from the field and went 14-of-36 (38.9%) from 3. They shot 29-of-33 on free throws. They had 25 assists on 40 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 34 points. Williams had 19 points and Holmgren had 15 points for nice bounce-back performances. Caruso scored 20 points and Wiggins scored 18 points off the bench. Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 45% from the field and went 14-of-40 (35%) from 3. They shot 19-of-26 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 37 baskets. Seven Pacers players scored double-digit points. Tyrese Haliburton only had 17 points and six assists. Myles Turner had 16 points and four rebounds. Pascal Siakam finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Nesmith and Bennedict Mathurin each scored 14 points. TJ McConnell tallied 11 points and six assists. This was how most people envisioned the NBA Finals to play out. The Thunder got off to a hot start and held a double-digit lead for most of the night. Despite that, OKC fans worried the Pacers had another comeback left in them. The scoreboard might've said a 15-plus point advantage, but the vibes felt like a two-possession game until both sides cleared their benches. Even though this was a much-needed Game 2 win, the Thunder are still playing catch-up. Losing home-court advantage on a stunner will do that. They travel to Indiana with the hopes of similar success and at least splitting the road trip. Let's look at Thunder player grades: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus Seeing Johnny Furphy inside the paint, Gilgeous-Alexander smelled blood in the water like a shark. He danced around Mathurin and bumped against the rookie. With his hands raised, the MVP winner put the final touches on a masterpiece when he went after Indiana's reserve. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting, eight assists and five rebounds. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 11-of-12 on free throws. He also had four steals and a block. Everything was at stake for the Thunder in Game 2. They couldn't afford an early 0-2 series deficit and head on the road. Gilgeous-Alexander responded as he made the NBA Finals look like a standard regular-season matchup. So much for the playoff dropper allegations. Gilgeous-Alexander ballerina'd his way through the Pacers. He only needed a few dribbles to get to his mid-range spots and find openings around the basket. Indiana couldn't figure him out. He had a busy night at the charity stripe to show for it. From the jump, Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone. A rare catch-and-shoot corner 3-pointer sank in. The Thunder's offense looked a lot smoother to start. A stark contrast from their early Game 1 jitters. The MVP winner was a consistent threat throughout the four quarters. This is what one of the NBA's best players does. Gilgeous-Alexander entered another classic legacy moment and lived up to the pressure. His 72 points through two NBA Finals games is the most scored from any player in their series debut at this stage. It was business as usual. Gilgeous-Alexander has easily been the best player in this series. While the Pacers' depth is nice, not having a direct counter to him showed its ugly face down the stretch with a failed comeback attempt. Jalen Williams: B Matched up with Siakam, Williams casually strolled to his spot a step within the paint. He swished in a mid-range jumper to push OKC's lead to over 20 points in the fourth quarter. Any fears that stemmed from Game 1 were quickly cooled down. Williams finished with 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting, five assists and five rebounds. He shot 1-of-5 from 3 and went 8-of-9 on free throws. He also had a steal. Nothing spectacular, but Williams did enough. The jumper might not have fallen, but the 24-year-old made up for it with constant free-throw trips. Shoutout this whistle-happy referee crew that extended this game to nearly three hours. Pair that with his shutout defense against Siakam, and Williams did enough to secure a win. Much better than his Game 1, where he struggled to get to the basket. Chet Holmgren: B Visibly upset after Game 1, you just knew Holmgren was going to bounce back. The 23-year-old might have the occasional stinker, but never two in a row. He only needed the first quarter to prove that, as he exceeded his Game 1 point total. Holmgren finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, six rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had a block. Receiving the inbound pass, Holmgren faked the corner attempt and drove past Turner for a scoop layup in the final seconds of the first frame. That was a perfect move to finish a hot start and flexing his confidence hasn't gone anywhere. The Thunder stuck with their Game 1 starters and reaped the benefits. They didn't overreact to an anomaly. Instead, they relied on what the lineup data has suggested all year. The Holmgren-Hartenstein lineup was back on the table after barely being played in Game 1. It worked out tremendously in their limited reps as they connected on an alley-oop. This is probably the best usage of Holmgren. He's at his peak at center. The Pacers always had to second-guess themselves when they drove to the basket. When he gets it going as a scorer, that makes the Thunder even more dangerous. Alex Caruso: A-plus Cutting baseline, Caruso found himself open. Hartenstein keyed in on that with a pass that resulted in a reverse layup. The Thunder kept their foot on the gas pedal in the second half. The bench lineup played an important role in that. Caruso finished with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, three rebounds and one assist. He shot 4-of-8 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. To demonstrate the Pacers' scoring distribution weirdness, Caruso would've been their top scorer. They had seven players score over 10 points, but nobody scored more than 17. That could be a problem the Thunder could exploit. They at least did so in Game 2. The high turnover rate wasn't there, but the Thunder survived with textbook defense. Especially from the outside, as the Pacers cooled down a bit. Caruso continues to make a case that OKC's acquisition of him could go down as one of the more savvy moves of the last year. Aaron Wiggins: A-plus Sporting a Wiggins shirt in his pregame warmups, Williams looked like Nostradamus four hours later. Sometimes you need your role players to get hot to secure a playoff win. The Thunder received that in bunches in Game 2. Wiggins was another top contributor. He finished with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 5-of-8 from 3 and went 1-of-2 on free throws. He also had a steal. It was obvious from the start that Wiggins would feel himself. After he first checked in, he spun around Siakam and banked the ball for a layup. That made cashing in on his outside attempts look easy. The Thunder's outside barrage put the Pacers behind on the scoreboard. Despite an inconsistent role, Wiggins continues to be a positive. The Thunder needed his shot-creation. He was another bench player who stepped up and fed off the home crowd in a must-win situation. Highlights:
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NBA》亞歷山大一戰狂創多項紀錄比肩喬丹、Kobe 總冠軍戰前2戰72分成史上第一
總冠軍戰G2今（9）日開打，雷霆靠著當家MVP亞歷山大(Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)全場轟下34分、5籃板、8助攻、4抄截，終場以123比107痛宰溜馬，將系列戰扳成1比1平手。其中，亞歷山大一戰更創多項紀錄，甚至單賽季達到3000分，成為史上第12人。 本季新科MVP的亞歷山大，在本戰再次展現強大進攻能力，全場狂轟34分、5籃板、8助攻、4抄截帶領雷霆扳平戰局，而今天拿下34分之後，更以總冠軍賽前兩戰累積72分，打破艾佛森（Allen Iverson）原本保持的71分紀錄，締造NBA長達79年的新歷史。 72 POINTS THROUGH 2 FINALS GAMES ?The MOST by any player EVER to begin a Finals career!!More history for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ? — NBA (@NBA) June 9, 2025 此外，亞歷山大也達成單季3000分的里程碑，包括例行賽和季後賽，成為聯盟史上第12人，過去包括「籃球之神」喬丹（Michael Jordan）、歐尼爾（Shaquille O'Neal）和布萊恩（Kobe Bryant）都曾達成過。同時，亞歷山大成為史上第4位例行賽與季後賽達到3000分，也同一個賽季獲得例行賽MVP的球員，前三名分別是喬丹、歐尼爾與杜蘭特（Kevin Durant）。 3K for SGA ?Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the 12th player in history to reach 3,000 points in an NBA season, regular-season and playoffs. — The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 9, 2025 另一方面，亞歷山大今年季後賽已經3次至少連續4場得分30+，成為聯盟第一名做到的球員。對於第一場失利後，本戰展現何種決心？亞歷山大賽後受訪則表示，籃球是一場有起有伏的比賽，整個賽季充滿了起起落落，一輪系列賽也是如此，關鍵在於哪支球隊能夠保持冷靜，並在這些經歷中不斷進步，最終脫穎而出。這就是我們的目標，在每一次經歷中變得更好，我們上一場比賽做到了這一點，第三場比賽我們也必須重複這一點。 更多新聞推薦 • 更多》NBA最新報導
New York Times
43 minutes ago
- New York Times
Yankees had a chance to bury Red Sox's season but failed: 3 takeaways
NEW YORK — There's not much that Jazz Chisholm Jr. wouldn't say with a microphone in his face, but what Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins said was one of those moments that the New York Yankees' third baseman would have stayed quiet. Dobbins told Red Sox writer Gabrielle Starr that if the Yankees were the last team to give him a contract, he'd retire. It was an audacious comment for a rookie to make before making his debut in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry on the road at Yankee Stadium, in what is always a hostile environment when the two clubs play. Advertisement 'I don't think I would ever say that,' Chisholm said before Sunday's game. 'I feel like that closes doors, but I like it, though. I like the competitiveness. It adds a lot of spiciness. You enjoy it. You're more locked in as a fan because you know what's going on. It's fun.' For a moment, it looked like Dobbins' outing on Sunday Night Baseball would go off the rails. Ben Rice led off the game with a single, and Aaron Judge followed by blasting a 436-foot opposite-field two-run home run. Judge said the only player he could remember saying something similarly to Dobbins' comment was Ken Griffey Jr., who repeatedly stated throughout his career that he would never play for the Yankees. Judge said Dobbins' remark was in his head when he stepped in the batter's box in the first inning. 'I was a little surprised,' Judge said. The Judge sentenced this ball to exile. #AllRise — New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 8, 2025 But to Dobbins' credit, he settled in after Judge's blast. Dobbins held the Yankees to just four hits and three runs across five innings. Boston manager Alex Cora took Dobbins out after just 64 pitches because he did not want the rookie facing the top of the Yankees' order for a third time. Chisholm posted 'free smoke' on his Instagram account before Sunday's game, referencing the free motivation the Yankees would have from Dobbins' comments, but the only smoke in the Bronx came from Boston's bats. They hit five home runs and won 11-7, taking two of three games from the Yankees this weekend. This was the first time Boston won back-to-back games since May 24. The Yankees could have buried the Red Sox's season this weekend. Boston entered this series sputtering and dealt with constant cries from the fan base to call up No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony to provide a spark, but it leaves New York with a bit of momentum after falling behind in the division by 10.5 games after Friday night's loss. It's still a long shot for the Red Sox to win the AL East, but being down 8.5 games rather than potentially 12.5 games is quite the difference. Advertisement 'They beat us here this weekend,' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. 'It's part of it. We'll regroup into the off day. We're off to Kansas City and, obviously, back to Boston to get ourselves right back on track.' Here are two more takeaways from this series: The Yankees miss Luke Weaver. Losing their most important reliever for several weeks because of a pulled hamstring is shining a light on some of the cracks the bullpen currently has. We mentioned Ian Hamilton not being the same in Saturday's story, but add Jonathan Loáisiga to that group, too. It's a small sample but Loáisiga has allowed four home runs in 10 innings pitched this season. It's already the second-most home runs he's allowed in a single season in any year of his career. His biggest issue is that he doesn't have the same level of command as he had in 2023, and he's not getting the same elite movement on his signature pitch. The hope is that Loáisiga will regain form with more innings coming off of elbow surgery, but it should give the front office some concern because it's not a given that a pitcher will return to form in his first season back from a major injury. Story's turn!!! — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 9, 2025 'Stuff-wise, he's where he needs to be,' Boone said. It's a small sample, but his sinker still grades out as elite, according to Stuff+, which measures the physical characteristics of a pitch. But, his sinker currently has the lowest Stuff+ of his career. For now, Loáisiga needs lower-leverage outings while he sorts through his issues. The Yankees have the 15th-best bullpen ERA. A key factor for their inflated ERA? They are walking too many hitters. Their bullpen's walk percentage is the eighth-worst in MLB, and no current playoff team has a worse walk percentage than the Yankees. They need at least one new bullpen arm at the trade deadline. Advertisement Don't look now, but DJ LeMahieu has a 103 wRC+ entering the Kansas City series. I did not see him being much of a positive contributor, considering his concerning downward trajectory over the past few seasons. Now it is a small sample (69 plate appearances), but the Yankees will take any positive contribution from him that they can get. He's now 9 for his last 21, including a double and a home run over his last six games. What's interesting about LeMahieu's start to his 2025 season is he entered Sunday's game with the highest average exit velocity, barrel percentage and average launch angle of his career. Those are three major positives and would be interesting developments if they can stick over a larger sample. It's too early to make any sweeping conclusions on LeMahieu as a player, but it's worth keeping an eye on because if they can get simply league-average production out of him, it would be an unexpected contribution and could impact their trade deadline decisions. (Photo of Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacting after striking out in the eighth inning on Sunday: John Jones / Imagn Images)
