Game 2: Thunder will try to tie up the NBA Finals, while Pacers will seek complete control of series
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) dunks during the second half in Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the Indiana Pacers Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (Matthew Stockman/Pool Photo via AP)
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will almost certainly reach a milestone on Sunday night.
The reigning NBA MVP from the Thunder enters Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers just two points away from 3,000 for the season, including the regular season and playoffs.
That's a total that has been reached 24 other times in league history — 10 by Michael Jordan, five by Wilt Chamberlain and once by nine other players. Gilgeous-Alexander would be the 12th to reach the milestone.
But there's a bigger milestone that Gilgeous-Alexander would like to get Sunday as well: His first finals win. That'll be his only priority in Game 2.
'I said this so many times, I don't play for the individual stuff,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'I don't play for anything else besides winning. I never have in my whole life.'
The Thunder, the NBA's top overall seed entering the playoffs after going 68-14 in the regular season, lost Game 1 to the Pacers on Thursday night 111-110 — and with it, lost the home-court advantage in this series as well.
If the Pacers win Game 2, they'll likely become overwhelming favorites. Only two teams — the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets — won the first two games of a finals on the road, and both went on to win the NBA title in those seasons. And teams that open the finals with a 2-0 lead go on to win the series 86.5 per cent of the time (32 times in 37 chances).
'The journey to get here all year has not been about getting to the finals,' Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. 'It's a day at a time, especially after the start of the year. And it's hard — we have social media and friends and family that tell us all the numbers of if you can win the two games at home, whatever it will look like, or on the road or whatever the case.'
The series will shift to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday.
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account This time, his peers found a way to ensure he couldn't say no. Nelson — a Basketball Hall of Famer and three-time NBA coach of the year — was announced Sunday as this year's recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the National Basketball Coaches Association. It will be formally given out Sunday night, about an hour before Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. 'History has already reflected Don Nelson's staggering contributions as a cutting-edge innovator and visionary of the NBA game,' said Pacers coach and NBCA President Rick Carlisle. 'Back in the '80s and '90s, he made teams adjust to historic pace, liberal 3-point shooting, inverted offence, and disruptive defensive schemes. All this while establishing himself as one of the most compelling personalities in all of professional sports.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Nelson, 85, retired in 2010 as the NBA's all-time coaching wins leader with 1,335, just ahead of Lenny Wilkens' 1,332. Nelson kept that top spot for nearly 12 years before now-retired San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich passed him in March 2022. Nelson is one of only two coaches in NBA history to have at least 250 wins with three different franchises. He got to that mark with Milwaukee, Dallas and Golden State, and also coached New York briefly in his career. Nelson and Daly were close friends. They went head-to-head 41 times as coaches: Nelson's teams went 21-20 in those games. 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