Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacts to Game 1 loss to Pacers: 'The series isn't first to one'
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacts to Game 1 loss to Pacers: 'The series isn't first to one'
Doubled by Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could only muster up a turnaround jumper that clanked off the rim in the final seconds. What could've been a signature moment in his NBA Finals debut instead served as a sparkplug for Tyrese Haliburton's moment.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 38 points on 14-of-30 shooting, five rebounds and three assists. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 7-of-8 on free throws. He also had three steals.
But none of that mattered for the MVP winner. The Thunder were sent into shock in a 111-110 Game 1 loss to the Indiana Pacers. The latter only held the lead for 0.3 seconds the entire game after Haliburton scored another game-winner.
Too many moments in the final minutes when the Thunder couldn't shut the door on the Pacers. Gilgeous-Alexander had his miscues despite being the best player on the floor. He had a handful of chances to seal the result but missed on bunnies.
Credit Gilgeous-Alexander for emptying the tank. He left it all on the floor as soon as he realized nobody else besides Dort would join him. But the usually efficient scorer didn't have the butterfly finishes through traffic or go to the free-throw line at the clip we've grown accustomed to. The mid-range jumper wasn't automatic.
Then Haliburton magnified those problems with his game-winner. You could've swept it under the rug if the Thunder escaped with a win, but Gilgeous-Alexander's inability to close it out and let the Pacers stay within the game in the final moments came back to bite the MVP winner.
"It happened so fast. I feel like we got matched. He got down going right. Pulled up from middie. Knocked down the shot. I don't know, it didn't feel like anything crazy," Gilgeous-Alexander said on Haliburton's bucket. "He just made a play with the time winding down. Made a good play."
Despite that, Gilgeous-Alexander did enough to get a Game 1 win. He dragged his team to a double-digit lead for most of the game, but couldn't put on his Superman cape in the final moments and deliver an important win. The Thunder have been at this spot before and usually respond well. Let's see how they look in Game 2.
"We just got to focus on being better. The series isn't first to one, it's first to four. We have four more games to get, they have three," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "That's just where we are. We got to understand that and we got to get to four before they get to three, if we want to win the NBA championship."
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