"I didn't want to go out not swinging" - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on his historic fourth quarter in Game 4 vs. Pacers
"I didn't want to go out not swinging" - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on his historic fourth quarter in Game 4 vs. Pacers originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The Oklahoma City Thunder looked like they were one quarter away from losing Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
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The Indiana Pacers held the lead for most of the night, and after an Obi Toppin dunk, they were up 86-76 with 32 seconds left in the third quarter. At that point, it looked like the home team would pull away and secure a 3-1 series lead.
But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had other plans.
"I just tried to be aggressive," Gilgeous-Alexander said during the post-game press conference of his strong fourth quarter. "I knew what it would've looked like if we lost tonight. And I didn't want to go out not swinging, not doing everything in my power to win the game. The guys deserved that much from me. The coaches deserved that much from me. And I just tried to be aggressive, but also just to let the game come to me and not force anything too crazy, and I guess it paid off."
Shai showed why he is the MVP
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 fourth-quarter points, including a 14-foot stepback with 2:23 left in the game that put the Pacers up 104-103. He then made six free throws in the final 44 seconds as the Thunder completed a comeback and regained the precious home-court advantage in the series.
The superstar guard scored 15 out of the Thunder's final 16 points in the final five minutes of the game — the most points in the final five minutes of regulation of an NBA Finals game since 1971.
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Gilgeous-Alexander finished the game with 35 points on 12-of-24 shooting and 10-10 from the free throw line. He also added three rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot in 40 minutes of action.
"He's unreal, obviously. Really closed that thing offensively. He and Dub did a great job there just execution-wise. The shot-making. He was outstanding," said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault about his superstar after the game.
Related: "I don't think he ever will be Kobe" - Gary Payton says it's blasphemy to compare Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Kobe Bryant
No win without Caruso, though
But while Gilgeous Alexander and Jalen Williams (27 points, seven rebounds and three assists) did most of the heavy lifting, the Thunder would not have been in a position to make that fourth quarter comeback without veteran guard Alex Caruso.
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With 20 points in Game 4, he became the first player in NBA history to have two 20-point games in the NBA Finals after not having one 20-point game during the entire regular season. Caruso shot 7-of-9 from the field and added three rebounds, five steals, and one blocked shot in 30 minutes off the bench.
"He's been that our whole playoff run. He makes timely stops, timely steals, timely deflections, timely plays and big shots. I mean, he's a gamer. He's the only one on our team with a championship ring and it's no coincidence. He knows how to win big games. In big moments, he arrives. I told him after the game, like, 'You started our run, for sure.' He deserves all the praise for that. He's a big-time performer and we're seeing it in front of our eyes," Gilgeous Alexander said about Caruso's play.
Game 5 will be on Monday at the PayCom Center, where the Thunder hope to take their first lead of the 2025 championships series.
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Related: "F**k that. Shoot it 35 times" - Draymond believes SGA must be more assertive for the Thunder to win it all
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
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