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

Tim Reynolds · The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 08, 2025 11:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

This has been Oklahoma City's look each season: Lose 1 game, respond successful the next.

That's precisely what the Thunder did successful Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Hamilton, Ont., autochthonal Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, Alex Caruso added 20 disconnected the seat and the Thunder bushed the Indiana Pacers 123-107 connected Sunday nighttime to necktie these finals astatine 1 crippled apiece.

"We did immoderate things bully tonight. We did immoderate things bad," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We've got to beryllium capable to get amended and beryllium acceptable for Game 3."

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Tyrese Haliburton scored 17 for Indiana, which erased a 15-point, fourth-quarter shortage successful Game 1 but ne'er made a propulsion connected Sunday. Myles Turner scored 16 and Pascal Siakam added 15 for the Pacers, the archetypal squad since Miami successful 2013 to not person a 20-point scorer successful the archetypal 2 games of the finals.

Game 3 is Wednesday astatine Indianapolis, successful what volition beryllium the archetypal finals crippled successful that metropolis successful 25 years.

"A atrocious archetypal half, obviously, was a large problem," Pacers manager Rick Carlisle said. "And we conscionable played poorly. A small amended successful the 2nd half. But you can't beryllium a squad that's reactive and expect to beryllium palmy oregon person consistency."

Gilgeous-Alexander's archetypal handbasket of the nighttime was a history-maker: It gave him 3,000 points connected the season, including the regular play and playoffs. And aboriginal successful Game 2, helium passed New York's Jalen Brunson (514) arsenic the starring wide scorer successful these playoffs.

A 19-2 tally successful the 2nd 4th turned what was a six-point crippled into a 23-point Thunder lead. It mightiness person seemed wobbly a mates of times — an contiguous 10-0 rebuttal by the Pacers made it 52-39, and Indiana was wrong 13 again aft Andrew Nembhard's layup with 7:09 near successful the 3rd — but the Thunder pb was ne'er successful superior doubt.

"They did a bully occupation being disruptive," Siakam said. "They got retired successful transition. ... They were ace aggressive, which is what they do."

With the sound level successful the gathering often topping 100 decibels — a concatenation saw is 110 dB, for examination purposes — the Thunder did what they've done beauteous overmuch each season. They came disconnected a loss, this clip a 111-110 decision successful Game 1, and blew idiosyncratic retired arsenic their response.

Including the NBA Cup rubric game, which doesn't number successful immoderate standings, the Thunder are present 18-2 this play erstwhile coming disconnected a loss. Of those 18 wins, 12 person been by treble digits.

"That's a agelong 48 hours erstwhile you suffer Game 1 similar that, coming into Game 2," Thunder manager Mark Daigneault said. "The guys did a large occupation of conscionable focusing connected what we needed to bash to stack to a triumph tonight. That's however we got it."