What a series we are having! Though lacking in superstar pedigree, what the current NBA Finals lacks in gravitas, it has made up for in terms of pizzaz!
Just yesterday, the OKC Thunder gave the Indiana Pacers a dose of their own medicine by coming up from behind to score a 111-104 victory, tying the series at two games apiece.
SGA. Over at our “Double J Podcast ” at TMC 105.1 with the ultra-talented Jiggy Juice, I told the latter to expect an MVP worthy performance from Shai Gilgeous Alexander and the latter delivered.
While it was not as dominant as Thunder fans would have wanted it- and things were quite rough for him in the first three quarters, he stepped up in the fourth quarter by scoring 15 big points.
He made two crucial plays around the three minute mark that put them in front for the first time in the 4th quarter. That lead, they never relinquished.
The league’s reigning MVP finished with 35 points on 12-24 shooting and with only two turnovers. This statistic would prove to be crucial as his star counterpart on the Pacers side- Tyrese Haliburton committed five turnovers.
All in all, the Thunder took better care of the ball with only 13 turnovers compared to the Pacers who had a grand total of 27. The rebounds were also big for the Thunder as Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein crashed the boards in crucial moments of the fourth quarter.
REFRESHING. While the ratings for these NBA Finals are reportedly lower compared to previous iterations, its quite refreshing to see new names, new faces on our screens, making the big shots and giving us goose-bumps.
PIVOT POINT. That Game 4 was a huge pivot point and luckily for the Thunder they emerged victorious. Stats show that teams who win Game 3 of a 7- game series go on to win the 80 percent of the time and so the Thunder had their work cut out for them.
Had they lost Game 4 it would have been a foregone conclusion already as only one team has come back from a 1-3 deficit and last time I checked there was no Lebron James in their roster. Now, with the series tied 2-all, they have the momentum going back to their homecourt.
VERBATIM. “We shouldn’t have to tell you to be in shape, you should have been about that, right? Especially when you are a superstar. - Magic Johnson to Luka Doncic (ESPN, First Take)
LAST ROUNDS. Are on my SHS 89 Batchmates, Atty Ted Ramos and Kenneth Dyguani who recently celebrated their birthdays. Cheers!