NBA Finals: How Oklahoma City Thunder's win vs Indiana Pacers can propel them to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls' level
The NBA Finals Game 4 will be held on Friday, and many records could be broken as the Oklahoma City Thunder face the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers currently hold an upper hand in the NBA finals, leading the series 2-1 after the completion of three games. The NBA finals game 4 could see some records broken, especially from the Thunder side.
The OKC Thunder are on the verge of becoming the fifth most successful team in a single season in NBA history if they manage to beat the Pacers. They can also set the NBA record for most points in a single season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder's win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals was their 81st of the season. They won 68 games during the regular season and have won 13 games in the playoffs so far.
The most any team has won in a single season is 88 games, a record set by the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors. The Thunder won't be able to match that record, nor will it catch Chicago and its 87 wins in 1995-96.
But OKC could move into a tie with the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls, who featured Michael Jordan, for the third place on the all-time list for most wins in a season.
A look at where the Thunder are on the all-time wins list:
88 wins — 2015-16 Golden State Warriors
87 wins — 1995-96 Chicago Bulls
84 wins — 1996-97 Chicago Bulls
83 wins — 2016-17 Golden State Warriors
82 wins — 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers; 1985-86 as well as 2007-08 Boston Celtics, 2012-13 Miami Heat; 1991-92 Chicago Bulls.
81 wins — The current Oklahoma City Thunder; 1971-72 as well as 2008-09 Los Angeles Lakers.
If the Oklahoma City Thunder win the NBA finals game 4, they will rise to the fifth spot on the list. If they lift the NBA trophy, the team will finish with 84 wins, tying for third place with the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls.
Along with that record, the Thunder are likely to set an NBA record for total points scored in a season during Friday's NBA Finals Game 4.
So far, including regular-season and postseason games, the Thunder have scored 12,094 points. That's the third-most all-time behind Golden State (12,161 in 2018-19) and theLos Angeles Lakers (12,096 in 1984-85). OKC needs only 68 points on Friday to pass the Warriors.
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