There was no miracle of match 2 for the Indiana Pacers.
The Oklahoma City Thunder took early check for the NBA final 2 game and never dropped on the way to a 123-107 victory. With the victory, the Thunder links the series to 1-1 and avoid digging a 0-2 deficit on their field before the series travels to Indianapolis for match 3.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paved the way with an effort worthy of an NBA MVP on both sides of the ball while totaling 34 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four interceptions. His effort combined with those of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams and the OKC bench assured that there would be no Indiana rally, or even a threat of a Sunday evening.
Gilgeous-Alexander and his colleagues went to the bench with 2:42 to play and the Thunder holding an advance of 117-99. The Pacers had agitated the white flag.
Tyrese Haliburton fades in match 2
The hero of the Indiana qualifying series was not found on Sunday evening. In other words, until it is too late. Haliburton only made one basket in the first half while scoring three points.
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At the end of the third quarter, he collected five points, three rebounds, four assists and three reversals. Until then, Oklahoma City has held an advance of 93-74.
Indiana was so far thanks to a historic penchant for the assembly of second half gatherings. But this is not a strategy to win matches, and the three -quarter Sunday hole turned out to be too much for the Pacers to be defined.
Haliburton resumed his attack in the fourth quarter and finished with 17 points, three rebounds, six assists and five reversals. But by then it was too late. There was no pacers rally on Sunday, or even a perfume.
The Thunder was fully controlled from Midway in the second quarter and never left the Pacers in the game.
Chet Holmgren bounces
Chet Holmgren’s difficulties in match 1 played a big role in OKC’s Blown’s advance. The third year center scored six points while only pulling only 2 out of 9 on the field on Thursday evening, which raised the question of whether the 23 -year -old was ready for the NBA final scene.
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He responded with an assertive answer in match 4. Holmgren led the Thunder by scoring with a first quarter of nine points while pulling 4 out of 5 on the field and leading OKC to 26-20. It was a factor on both sides of the ball and finished match 2 with 15 points, six rebounds and a block. He pulled 6 out of 11 on the ground.
Jalen Williams, whom the Thunder selected in the same draft as Holmgren, also had trouble in match 1 in a shooting effort of 6 out of 19 for 17 points. He finished on Sunday with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Thunder faced questions about their youth and their inexperience in playoffs throughout the playoffs that resurfaced after the match 1. As they did each time before, they responded to the bell on Sunday to dissuade any concept that it is a regular season team.
The OKC bench is displayed
The depth of Oklahoma City was one of its greatest forces in its race for the NBA final.
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The bench was again large on Sunday, especially Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins. The OKC bench has outlined the Indiana, 48-33, and Caruso scored and Wiggins have each scored more points than anyone on the Indiana list.
Caruso led the bench effort with 20 points and three rebounds while firing 6 out of 11 on the field and 4 out of 8 to 3 points. Wiggins added 18 points and four rebounds while pulling 6 out of 11 on the field and 5 out of 8.
The collective ineffectiveness of the match 1 of Oklahoma City allowed the Pacers to set up a rally while the Thunder pulled at 39.8% of the field and could not benefit from an advantage of 98-82 in Goal’s attempts on the field. OKC was much more efficient as a team on Sunday while shooting 45.1% in the field. Caruso and Wiggins were a great reason why.
