Thunder open NBA Finals against the Pacers
Indiana Pacers (50-32, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, first in the Western Conference)
Oklahoma City; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -9.5; over/under is 231
NBA FINALS: Thunder host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Indiana Pacers in game one of the NBA Finals. Oklahoma City went 2-0 against Indiana during the regular season. The Thunder won the last regular season matchup 132-111 on Sunday, March 30 led by 33 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while Tyrese Haliburton scored 18 points for the Pacers.
The Thunder are 36-6 on their home court. Oklahoma City ranks sixth in the league averaging 14.5 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 37.4% from downtown. Isaiah Joe leads the team averaging 2.6 makes while shooting 41.2% from 3-point range.
The Pacers have gone 21-20 away from home. Indiana has a 22-15 record against opponents over .500.
The Thunder are shooting 48.2% from the field this season, 0.8 percentage points higher than the 47.4% the Pacers allow to opponents. The Pacers average 13.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.3 fewer makes per game than the Thunder allow.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and 1.7 steals for the Thunder. Jalen Williams is averaging 20.1 points over the last 10 games.
Myles Turner is scoring 15.6 points per game and averaging 6.5 rebounds for the Pacers. Pascal Siakam is averaging 22.1 points and 5.4 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 7-3, averaging 112.5 points, 43.7 rebounds, 24.4 assists, 10.5 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.1 points per game.
Pacers: 7-3, averaging 116.8 points, 38.3 rebounds, 26.9 assists, 7.9 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.9 points.
INJURIES: Thunder: Nikola Topic: out for season (acl).
Pacers: Isaiah Jackson: out for season (calf), Jarace Walker: out (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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By Now that Davis Alexander has reached a certain status level as the Alouettes' starting quarterback, he might want to eschew having to play exhibition games next season. Alexander in general, and the Als' offence in particular, struggled mightily in the first half against Ottawa on May 24 in the teams' first exhibition game. Montreal failed to score a touchdown over the opening 30 minutes and even had trouble generating first downs that afternoon. Based on two weeks' of training camp workouts to that point, there was a modicum of reason to wonder — especially since Alexander and the starters didn't play the following week on the road against the Redblacks. Wonder no more. While one game does not a season make, the early reviews on Alexander are positive. Despite starting only four games last season — all wins — the 26-year-old fourth-year veteran showed the moment wasn't too big for him on Friday night. Alexander and his teammates delivered a beat-down on the Toronto Argonauts, handling the visitors with ease during this complete 28-10 victory at Molson Stadium in their regular-season opener before 21,480 Molson Stadium spectators. The Argos might be the defending Grey Cup champions, but on this night they looked like chumps. 'His mental toughness,' said receiver Tyson Philpot, who scored Montreal's first offensive touchdown on a 26-yard pass from Alexander late in the first quarter. 'He raises the level of competition. He demands excellence from all of us. As a receiving corps we know we have to show up for him. 'I think that's the start of the D.A. era right now.' Simply based on statistics, there was nothing spectacular about Alexander. He completed 19 of 26 passes for 205 yards along with the touchdown to Philpot, who suffered a freak season-ending foot injury last August against Hamilton. Alexander also was intercepted once in the third quarter, while underthrowing Philpot on a long attempt that was as good as a punt. In the process, Alexander showed a quarterback need not throw for 300 yards to be effective. He was accurate with his passes and was able to find receivers while moving the pocket. Austin Mack was Montreal's leading receiver, catching five passes for 51 yards. Philpot had four receptions for 48 yards. Alexander utilized seven different receivers. 'I'm not going to say the pre-season doesn't mean anything to me,' Alexander said. 'You know I go out there and compete every single time. Maybe it was knocking a littler bit of rust off? Or just a different type of competitive juice. We've got playmakers everywhere. We had guys making crucial second-down conversions, and our run game was spectacular. 'I refer to it as cowboy football,' he added. 'If things break down it's on me as a quarterback to make something happen.' 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