Alex Caruso doesn't want to be congratulated until Thunder win NBA championship
Cutting baseline, Alex Caruso found himself open. Isaiah Hartenstein keyed in on that with a pass that resulted in a reverse layup. The Oklahoma City 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.
The Thunder evened the NBA Finals at 1-1 with a 123-107 Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers. It was another must-win scenario that the title favorite aced. That's been a common theme these playoffs.
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.
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"It's not easy to one, make the playoffs. It's not easy to win a series. It's not easy to advance to the Finals. All of that shouldn't be taken for granted," Caruso said on his journey. "I keep seeing people for the first time this postseason, people that I know or don't know, they say, 'Congratulations.' I truly don't want them to tell me congratulations until the series is over and we've won. I don't feel like we've accomplished anything until we win four games. That's just kind of the mindset I have."
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