SGA: Desperation fired Thunder response

New York Times

11 hours ago

Oklahoma City rallies to tie the series at 2-2 after trailing for nearly the entire second half Imagn Images
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had it tough tonight, just like the Oklahoma City Thunder had had it all series from the Indiana Pacers.
Tonight, the Thunder crucially came out on top.
'We finally struck together some stops,' Gilgeous-Alexander told ESPN. 'We knew it when we woke up this morning; 3-1 is a lot different than 2-2 going back home. We played with desperation until the end of the game, and that's why we won.
'We got to try to maintain the same desperation going into game five, game six, whatever it may be.
'It's a dark fight every time you step onto the floor. At both ends of the floor, they make you work. We like to make teams work. So whoever imposes their will, the best of the series will come out on top. And that's our goal.'
Jalen Williams: career-best 11 made free throws in Game 4 at Indiana.
It's the first time that Willams has attempted double-digit free throws in back-to-back games since at least high school. Getty Images
Jalen Williams has now strung together consecutive strong games and boy did Oklahoma City need his scoring tonight.
JDub scored 27 points on 8-of-18 shooting and got the line 11 times, making all of his attempts. His 3-point shot still left a bit to be desired, going 0-of-3, but he relentless inside the arc and constantly put pressure on the Pacers defense.
Over the last two games, Williams has scored 53 points and shot 22 free throws. Getty Images
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a postseason career high 15 fourth-quarter points tonight in Game 4.
He had only two games in the regular season with more.
One was a January loss against the Mavericks. The other was when he scored 16 points in a double-digit comeback win the day after Christmas...
In Indiana. Getty Images
Who needs Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when you've got these two guys?!
The Indiana Pacers missed all eight of their fourth quarter 3s. That's the most missed 3s without a make in the fourth quarter by the Pacers all year, regular and postseason.
The only made 3 in the fourth quarter by either team was made by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In a 7-point Thunder win, the turnovers were even at 16. But the Thunder beat the Pacers 12-7 on offensive rebounds, including 4-1 in the fourth quarter.
That's the most offensive rebounds for the Thunder since their Game 4 win at Minnesota.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was about his business today and that business was getting buckets.
He scored 35 points on 12-of-24 shooting, shot a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line and, most interestingly, had zero assists.
It's remarkable how consistently he got to his spots considering the focus on him by Indiana's defense, especially down the stretch.
Brandon S: This has been a phenomenal Finals. I love the Thunder and typically you'd feel nervous when your team is in these games (regardless of the sport.) This series has been different in that I've genuinely enjoyed watching both teams go at each other.
Corey B: The Pacers still should have closed that game. Their offense in the last few minutes was ugly.
Mic P: Neither of these teams have been to the finals, and it shows.
Anonymous: That was the championship. Pacers had it front of them, but they couldn't take it.
Game 1: Thunder led by 15 with 9:42 left, Pacers outscored Thunder 32-16 rest of game.
Game 4: Pacers led by 10 with 14:08 left, Thunder outscored Pacers 35-18 rest of game.
Alex Caruso has been such a big part of what the Thunder have done defensively this season, and he did his thing on that end again tonight. But it's impressive to see him have such a huge offensive game.
He scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting with a number of huge shots that seemed to keep Oklahoma City afloat.
Tune in to Game Theory on YouTube as we discuss the Thunder tying the series with the Pacers 2-2!
Mark Daigneault spoke postgame regarding the officiating in Game 4: 'There were a crap ton of fouls. That's why there were a crap ton of free throws. I thought the referees did a good job.'
Thunder shot 38 and Pacers shot 33 — 71 combined free throws.
The Milwaukee Bucks won a game in January while attempting only 12 3s.
The last time a team won a game making 3 or fewer 3s was the Pelicans in November 2022.
Tonight marks the first time a team made at least eight fewer 3s than its opponent in an NBA Finals win since Game 7 of the 2016 Cavaliers-Warriors series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played only 40 minutes tonight after logging 42 minutes in Game 3.
But I'd be curious to see the rest difference in terms of actual time rather than game time.
The Thunder rested him strategically early in this game, presumably to avoid him running out of gas late like he did in Game 3.
He did not run out of gas tonight. Imagn Images
Talk about a missed opportunity for Indiana. It's incredible to think how much the discourse might have shifted in the span of minutes.
If the Pacers go up 3-1, you never know what sort of domino effect happens.
Momentum is back on Oklahoma City side, and the Thunder now head into Game 5 full of confidence.
The Thunder shot 3-of-17 on 3s, good for 17.6 percent
That's the worst 3-point percentage by ANY team in an NBA Finals game since 2015 (minimum 15 attempts).
It's the worst in a WIN since 2010. Imagn Images
How irreplaceable has Alex Caruso been for the Thunder during the postseason?
Once again, he logged 30 minutes and scored 20 points off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting, not to mention five steals.
He is now averaging 14.8 points per game this series, including shooting 50 percent from 3.