By Joshua Miranda
Sports Capital Journalism Program
INDIANAPOLIS — The underdog Indiana Pacers had a chance to seize control of the NBA Finals and take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder. But by the time the final buzzer echoed through a quiet Gainbridge Fieldhouse late Friday night, it was Oklahoma City still standing. That wasn’t the case for most of the night.
For the first time in the Finals, the Pacers weren’t playing from behind. They led after the first quarter, something they hadn’t done in the series, and went on to outscore the Thunder in both the second and third quarters, looking every bit in control. With the raucous sellout crowd behind them and the Thunder beneath them, the game felt as if it was theirs to lose. But the fourth quarter told a different story.
Oklahoma City entered the final frame trailing by seven. Pascal Siakam was leading the way for Indiana, with Obi Toppin providing a spark off the bench. The Pacers were hot from deep, shooting 39.3% on 28 attempts from beyond the arc.
On the other side, Jalen Williams led the Thunder in scoring, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Alex Caruso not far behind. Outside of that trio, offensive contributions were minimal. OKC had attempted just 14 threes, and made only two, shooting a mere 14.3%.
“They’re a great team,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said of the Pacers. “One of the best teams since the All-Star break. They’ve been on an incredible run in these playoffs. They played with unbelievable confidence and competitiveness. I just thought they were super physical on the perimeter again tonight with their pressure, and made the game very difficult on us.”
Still, as the clock ticked down on the final 12 minutes, the Thunder began to chip away. They shifted their focus to the most reliable shot in basketball: points in the paint. Six of their nine field goals in the fourth came inside, helping them shoot an efficient 9-for-15 in the quarter.
They also started winning the hustle plays, as the Pacers began to fade. Chet Holmgren came alive, grabbing six rebounds — three offensive — and added six points in the final period. Defensively, Oklahoma City locked in. In the final 3:20, the Thunder held the Pacers to just one point and won the quarter 31–17. The Thunder outrebounded the Pacers 12-4 in the final quarter.
The brightest star down the stretch was the league’s Most Valuable Player. After a quiet Game 3 and a muted performance through most of Game 4, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander flipped a switch. At one point in the fourth quarter, he had 22 points on 22 shots. Then the MVP took over.
He poured in 15 points in the last 4:38, nearly doubling Indiana’s team in that span. His scoring came from everywhere, at the rim, midrange, beyond the arc, and from the foul line. Eight of his points came at the stripe.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been criticized this season for what some fans call “foul baiting,” and the Indianapolis crowd echoed those chants. But the ability to draw contact and convert at the line, a skill mastered by legends like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Michael Jordan and James Harden, was exactly what sealed the win. Gilgeous-Alexander’s last 15 points were the most scored in the final five minutes of a Finals game since 1971.
For the Pacers, everything that had worked throughout the playoffs began to unravel.
The team, one of the most efficient offenses in postseason history, shot just 28% in the fourth quarter. The NBA’s top 3-point shooting team by percentage missed all eight of its long-range attempts in the fourth quarter.
“We got stagnant,” said Pacer coach Rick Carlisle. “Their second shots were a big problem. When you’re unable to rebound, it’s hard to continue to play with pace and tempo.”
The Pacers also got into foul trouble. Indiana committed 10 fouls in the quarter. Aaron Nesmith, one of their key starters, fouled out with 44 seconds left and the team down three. Tyrese Haliburton, one of the league’s premier playmakers, dished out just one assist in the face of OKC’s relentless defense. He also airballed a critical 3-pointer while being guarded by Gilgeous-Alexander, quieting the home crowd.
“I have to do a better job of keeping pace in the game,” Haliburton said. “A lot of times in that fourth we were fouling too much, taking the ball out, trying to run something versus just playing random basketball. I’ve got to do a better job there.”
Bennedict Mathurin, hero of Game 3, became an unlikely closer for the Thunder. He missed three crucial free throws and committed two away-from-the-play fouls that handed OKC both points and possession.
As Indiana’s strengths disappeared in the fourth quarter, so did their hopes of building a 3-1 series lead. Now, the road gets harder. For the Pacers to win their first NBA title, they’ll have to win at least one more on the road, something they worked extremely hard for in Game 1. Oklahoma City has protected home court, which means Indiana will need to repent for its Game 4 collapse with a Herculean response away from home.
“It’s the ultimate effort, endeavor, whatever you want to call it,” Carlisle said. “I mean, it’s long. It’s arduous. But it’s the greatest opportunity going. It’s really hard, and it’s supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to be hard.
“This is where we’re going to have to dig in and circle the wagons and come back stronger on Monday,” he said. “This is a big disappointment, but there’s three games left.”
Throughout these playoffs, the Pacers have made a habit of breaking opponents with big fourth quarters. But this time, they were on the receiving end. The outcome of Indiana’s season will be determined by how the Pacers respond to heartbreak.