Pacers fail to sweep Games 1 and 2 in a series for the first time in these playoffs
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — For the Indiana Pacers, a chance at being perfect in Games 1 and 2 of these playoffs went awry.
They'll have to settle for a mere split of the opening two games in the NBA Finals instead.
The Pacers' bid to become the fifth team in NBA history to go 8-0 to open the four playoff rounds — sweeping Games 1 and 2 in all four series — was stopped on Sunday night by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder took control early and won Game 2 123-107, tying the championship matchup at a game apiece.
The Pacers were trying to join the 1986 Boston Celtics, 1987 Los Angeles Lakers, 1996 Chicago Bulls and 2017 Golden State Warriors as teams that won Games 1 and 2 in all four rounds of a single postseason. All four went on to win the NBA title.
Those teams all did it with home-court advantage in every one of those series. The Pacers haven't had home court since Round 1 — taking the first two of that series against Milwaukee, then winning the first two of Round 2 at Cleveland, the first two of the Eastern Conference final at New York, and Game 1 of the finals in Oklahoma City.
So, in the end, the Pacers have to settle for going 7-1, tying for the fifth-best record in Games 1 and 2 in a single postseason. They also became the third team to win five of those games on the road in a playoff run.
Houston went 5-3 in Games 1 and 2 on the road on its way to the title in 1995 and Miami went 5-3 in road games over the first two games of series in 2023 on its way to the NBA Finals. (The Heat were 6-2 in 'road' games in Games 1 and 2 of their series in the 2020 bubble playoffs as well, but those games were all in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.)
'I'm not interested in talking about the past,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'Each day, as you are on a playoff run, is like a new day. I find that looking back is a dangerous thing. We've got to keep our eye firmly where it needs to be.'
If the Pacers had won Sunday, they likely would have been overwhelming favorites heading home with a 2-0 lead. 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% of the time (32 times in 37 chances).
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USA Today
16 minutes ago
- USA Today
Player grades: Thunder bounce back with 123-107 Game 2 win over Pacers
Player grades: Thunder bounce back with 123-107 Game 2 win over Pacers OKLAHOMA CITY — As Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren checked out for the last time, the star trio was met with loud applause by the OKC crowd. Seeing the third-stringers play out the final minutes has been a growing tradition this year. The Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed a 123-107 Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers. The 2025 NBA Finals are now tied at 1-1 through the first two games. That's despite the latter only holding the lead for a little under two minutes in 96 minutes. Much like Game 1, the Thunder had a strong start. They held a 26-20 lead after the first quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander played within the flow and Holmgren already exceeded his first game production in just the opening frame. While the vibes were good, the Pacers stuck around. The Thunder then created space on the scoreboard. An extended 35-9 run ballooned their lead to 23 points. This time, the bench added to the advantage. Alex Caruso put fear in the heart of Indiana. Aaron Wiggins' shot creation was unreal. And Kenrich Williams was a surprise wildcard who stepped up. Even Isaiah Hartenstein looked better off the bench as the Thunder ran their double-big lineup. The Thunder scored 33 points in the frame. They entered halftime with a 59-41 lead. Not bad. Maybe it could've been more. The Pacers had a 10-0 run in the second quarter to keep it within distance. But a near-20-point lead is a truer tale of how these first two games have played out. If they wanted another miracle, the Pacers needed a quick start. Time was running out. Instead, the Thunder were fine with exchanging buckets. Indiana never seriously threatened to make a historic comeback ala Game 1. OKC scored 34 points in the third frame to create a 93-74 advantage. From that point on, the Thunder were cool going back and forth. Whenever Aaron Nesmith made a ridiculous outside shot, Gilgeous-Alexander sliced through Indiana's defense on the other end. No last-second shenanigans were left for the Pacers. Both teams eventually cleared their benches. While the Pacers did their job with a road split, the Thunder have thoroughly looked like the better squad besides a late-game Game 1 meltdown. Sounds eerily similar to how the Denver Nuggets' series played out. The Thunder shot 49% from the field and went 14-of-36 (38.9%) from 3. They shot 29-of-33 on free throws. They had 25 assists on 40 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 34 points. Williams had 19 points and Holmgren had 15 points for nice bounce-back performances. Caruso scored 20 points and Wiggins scored 18 points off the bench. Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 45% from the field and went 14-of-40 (35%) from 3. They shot 19-of-26 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 37 baskets. Seven Pacers players scored double-digit points. Tyrese Haliburton only had 17 points and six assists. Myles Turner had 16 points and four rebounds. Pascal Siakam finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Nesmith and Bennedict Mathurin each scored 14 points. TJ McConnell tallied 11 points and six assists. This was how most people envisioned the NBA Finals to play out. The Thunder got off to a hot start and held a double-digit lead for most of the night. Despite that, OKC fans worried the Pacers had another comeback left in them. The scoreboard might've said a 15-plus point advantage, but the vibes felt like a two-possession game until both sides cleared their benches. Even though this was a much-needed Game 2 win, the Thunder are still playing catch-up. Losing home-court advantage on a stunner will do that. They travel to Indiana with the hopes of similar success and at least splitting the road trip. Let's look at Thunder player grades: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus Seeing Johnny Furphy inside the paint, Gilgeous-Alexander smelled blood in the water like a shark. He danced around Mathurin and bumped against the rookie. With his hands raised, the MVP winner put the final touches on a masterpiece when he went after Indiana's reserve. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting, eight assists and five rebounds. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 11-of-12 on free throws. He also had four steals and a block. Everything was at stake for the Thunder in Game 2. They couldn't afford an early 0-2 series deficit and head on the road. Gilgeous-Alexander responded as he made the NBA Finals look like a standard regular-season matchup. So much for the playoff dropper allegations. Gilgeous-Alexander ballerina'd his way through the Pacers. He only needed a few dribbles to get to his mid-range spots and find openings around the basket. Indiana couldn't figure him out. He had a busy night at the charity stripe to show for it. From the jump, Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone. A rare catch-and-shoot corner 3-pointer sank in. The Thunder's offense looked a lot smoother to start. A stark contrast from their early Game 1 jitters. The MVP winner was a consistent threat throughout the four quarters. This is what one of the NBA's best players does. Gilgeous-Alexander entered another classic legacy moment and lived up to the pressure. His 72 points through two NBA Finals games is the most scored from any player in their series debut at this stage. It was business as usual. Gilgeous-Alexander has easily been the best player in this series. While the Pacers' depth is nice, not having a direct counter to him showed its ugly face down the stretch with a failed comeback attempt. Jalen Williams: B Matched up with Siakam, Williams casually strolled to his spot a step within the paint. He swished in a mid-range jumper to push OKC's lead to over 20 points in the fourth quarter. Any fears that stemmed from Game 1 were quickly cooled down. Williams finished with 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting, five assists and five rebounds. He shot 1-of-5 from 3 and went 8-of-9 on free throws. He also had a steal. Nothing spectacular, but Williams did enough. The jumper might not have fallen, but the 24-year-old made up for it with constant free-throw trips. Shoutout this whistle-happy referee crew that extended this game to nearly three hours. Pair that with his shutout defense against Siakam, and Williams did enough to secure a win. Much better than his Game 1, where he struggled to get to the basket. Chet Holmgren: B Visibly upset after Game 1, you just knew Holmgren was going to bounce back. The 23-year-old might have the occasional stinker, but never two in a row. He only needed the first quarter to prove that, as he exceeded his Game 1 point total. Holmgren finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, six rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had a block. Receiving the inbound pass, Holmgren faked the corner attempt and drove past Turner for a scoop layup in the final seconds of the first frame. That was a perfect move to finish a hot start and flexing his confidence hasn't gone anywhere. The Thunder stuck with their Game 1 starters and reaped the benefits. They didn't overreact to an anomaly. Instead, they relied on what the lineup data has suggested all year. The Holmgren-Hartenstein lineup was back on the table after barely being played in Game 1. It worked out tremendously in their limited reps as they connected on an alley-oop. This is probably the best usage of Holmgren. He's at his peak at center. The Pacers always had to second-guess themselves when they drove to the basket. When he gets it going as a scorer, that makes the Thunder even more dangerous. Alex Caruso: A-plus Cutting baseline, Caruso found himself open. Hartenstein keyed in on that with a pass that resulted in a reverse layup. The Thunder kept their foot on the gas pedal in the second half. The bench lineup played an important role in that. Caruso finished with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, three rebounds and one assist. He shot 4-of-8 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. To demonstrate the Pacers' scoring distribution weirdness, Caruso would've been their top scorer. They had seven players score over 10 points, but nobody scored more than 17. That could be a problem the Thunder could exploit. They at least did so in Game 2. The high turnover rate wasn't there, but the Thunder survived with textbook defense. Especially from the outside, as the Pacers cooled down a bit. Caruso continues to make a case that OKC's acquisition of him could go down as one of the more savvy moves of the last year. Aaron Wiggins: A-plus Sporting a Wiggins shirt in his pregame warmups, Williams looked like Nostradamus four hours later. Sometimes you need your role players to get hot to secure a playoff win. The Thunder received that in bunches in Game 2. Wiggins was another top contributor. He finished with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 5-of-8 from 3 and went 1-of-2 on free throws. He also had a steal. It was obvious from the start that Wiggins would feel himself. After he first checked in, he spun around Siakam and banked the ball for a layup. That made cashing in on his outside attempts look easy. The Thunder's outside barrage put the Pacers behind on the scoreboard. Despite an inconsistent role, Wiggins continues to be a positive. The Thunder needed his shot-creation. He was another bench player who stepped up and fed off the home crowd in a must-win situation. Highlights:
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21 minutes ago
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