Pacers' flight to OKC diverted to Tulsa due to tornado warning
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Indiana Pacers' first trip to the NBA Finals in 25 years took a short detour Tuesday when the team's chartered airplane was diverted to Tulsa due to a tornado warning in the vicinity of Oklahoma City's Will Rogers International Airport, a team source told The Athletic.
The Pacers, who will play the Thunder in Game 1 on Thursday, landed safely in Tulsa, about 110 miles from Oklahoma City, after a tornado tore through the area at about 5 p.m. local time.
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It was only a short delay — the Pacers were taxiing to leave Tulsa at 5:45 p.m. Severe thunderstorms are forecast for Oklahoma City for the rest of Tuesday evening, complicating travel for hundreds of media and vendors heading here for the finals.
Planes approaching Will Rogers just before the storm hit had to fly around towering cumulus clouds and strong winds, with predictable turbulence felt by passengers as the aircraft dipped and ducked to find safer air.
The airport briefly lost power as the storm approached and outbound flights were grounded for about an hour.
The Associated Press reported that at least one tornado was spotted near the University of Oklahoma, about 23 miles south of Oklahoma City, on Tuesday afternoon. But it was not known if the tornado touched down or caused damage.
On Saturday, the Pacers beat the New York Knicks in Game 6 to win their first Eastern Conference championship since 2000.
Wednesday is NBA Finals media day, in which both teams practice on the game court and take questions from reporters.
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