OKLAHOMA CITY — About an hour after the final buzzer sounded in the Pacers’ 111–110 Game 1 win in the NBA Finals, Thunder players made the winding walk to the postgame interview room to try to explain what happened. Answers didn’t come easy. “Honestly,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said, “I’m not too sure.” Isaiah Hartenstein pointed the finger inward. “It sounds weird,” Hartenstein said, “it wasn’t like they won the game, but I feel like we lost the game.” Jalen Williams offered a blunt assessment: “I mean, it sucks. I don’t know.”
When Oklahoma City reviews the film of Game 1, it will find a lot to like. There were the 25 forced turnovers. The Thunder crushed Indiana in points in the paint (46–34) and outscored the Pacers in transition. They held double-digit leads for most of the game. And a lead for all but all of it. But they scored just 11 points off those 25 turnovers and forced just six in the second half. They were destroyed (43–29) on the glass. Indiana finished the game shooting in the high 40s from the floor (47.6%) and the three-point line (46.2%). Oklahoma City didn’t crack 40% in either.
