Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers withdrew another stunner, moving 15 points to the edge Shai Gilgeous-Alexander And the OKC Thunder 111-110 in match 1 of the NBA final Thursday evening at the Paycc Center.
Haliburton crowned the return of the Indiana with a 2-point clutch pointer, sealing a fourth quarter wave that saw the pacers outclass the Thunder 35-25.
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After the match, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said that the Thunder had learned a hard lesson on the full game of the Pacers Never-Say-Die.
“It’s a 48-minute match,” he said (according to Tim McMahon d’Espn). “(Pacers) tell you about this lesson more than anyone in the hard league.”
SGA presented beginnings in the solid final, marking 38 points with five rebounds and three interceptions, but missed a bland with 11 seconds to do which could have given OKC a three -point cushion. Aaron Nesmith rose the rebound, and instead of calling for a dead time, the Indiana let Haliburton talk about it and hit the winner of the match.
No Indiana player has successfully made the 20 -point mark, but the depth of the Pacers turned out to be vital. Haliburton finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists; Pascal Siakam added 19 points and 10 plates; Obi Toppin had 17; Myles Turner marked 15; Andrew Nembhard collected 14; And Nesmith posted a double-double 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Thunder had a hard time finding support for his MVP. Jalen Williams scored 17 out of 6 shots out of 19, and Chet Holmgren only achieved six points out of nine attempts.
Indiana dominated glass 56-39, a key factor in victory despite the abandonment of 24 reversals. Thunder could only convert them into 11 points.
Match 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m. he.
Shai Gilgeous-Aalexander is a score record for the Canadian NBA final
Despite the overwhelming defeat, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander marked history, recording the highest total of all time by a Canadian in a match of the NBA final.
Its 38 points exceeded the previous brand of 34, established by Jamal Murray in match 3 of the 2023 final.
This year’s final highlighted Canada’s basketball boom, with SGA joined by his teammate Lu sleeps, who collected 15 points and four interceptions in match 1, while the Pacers present the Canadian stars Andrew Nembhard and Benédict Mathurin.
Pascal Siakam, another Pacers star, was a key room in the first NBA championship in Toronto in 2019.
Shai Gilgeous -Aalexander recently became the second Canadian to win the NBA MVP, after Steve Nash, who obtained the consecutive honor in 2005 and 2006. With OKC still hunting, SGA has a chance to become the first Canadian to win the MVP of the finals – if he can lead the Thunder after the game.
Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro
