Gilgeous-Alexander drops game-high 34 factors as Thunder rout Pacers to even NBA Finals

[ad_1] This has been Oklahoma Metropolis's method all season: Lose one sport, reply within the subsequent.

That is precisely what the Thunder did in Sport 2 of the NBA Finals.

Hamilton, Ont., native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 factors, Alex Caruso added 20 off the bench and the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 123-107 on Sunday evening to tie these finals at one sport apiece.

Jalen Williams scored 19, Aaron Wiggins had 18 and Chet Holmgren completed with 15 for the Thunder. It was the franchise's first finals sport win because the opener of the 2012 collection in opposition to Miami. "We did some issues good tonight. We did some issues unhealthy," Gilgeous-Alexander stated. "We have got to have the ability to get higher and be prepared for Sport 3."

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The Toronto Raptors could also be out of the season, however there's nonetheless loads of Canadian expertise to root for within the NBA Finals. CBC's Dwight Drummond spoke to the CEO of the Ontario Basketball Affiliation to search out out what followers must know. Tyrese Haliburton scored 17 for Indiana, which erased a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit in Sport 1 however by no means made a push on Sunday. Myles Turner scored 16 and Pascal Siakam added 15 for the Pacers, the primary staff since Miami in 2013 to not have a 20-point scorer within the first two video games of the finals.

Sport 3 is Wednesday at Indianapolis, in what would be the first finals sport in that metropolis in 25 years.

Gilgeous-Alexander's first basket of the evening was a history-maker: It gave him 3,000 factors on the season, together with the common season and playoffs. And later in Sport 2, he handed New York's Jalen Brunson (514) because the main general scorer in these playoffs. However the actual milestone for the MVP got here a pair hours later, when he and most everyone else on the Thunder acquired a finals win for the primary time.

A 19-2 run within the second quarter turned what was a six-point sport right into a 23-point Thunder lead. It may need appeared wobbly a few instances — a right away 10-0 rebuttal by the Pacers made it 52-39, and Indiana was inside 13 once more after Andrew Nembhard's layup with 7:09 left within the third — however the Thunder lead was by no means in severe doubt.

With the noise degree within the constructing typically topping 100 decibels — a chainsaw is 110 dB, for comparability functions — the Thunder did what they've executed just about all season. They got here off a loss, this time a 111-110 defeat in Sport 1, and blew any individual out as their response.

Together with the NBA Cup title sport, which does not rely in any standings, the Thunder are actually 18-2 this season when coming off a loss. Of these 18 wins, 12 have been by double digits.