The Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA championship since the franchise’s Seattle SuperSonics days, defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 on Sunday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped off his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists to lead the Thunder to victory. Jalen Williams added 20 points while Chet Holmgren contributed 18 points in the championship-clinching win.
The Thunder’s 84 combined wins between regular season and playoffs tied the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third-most in NBA history. Only Golden State’s 2016-17 team (88 wins) and Chicago’s 2015-16 squad (87 wins) recorded more victories in a single season.
Oklahoma City trailed 48-47 at halftime but outscored Indiana 34-20 in the third quarter to build a 13-point advantage and pull away for the victory. The Thunder’s championship run came despite being pushed to a decisive seventh game.
The Pacers’ hopes took a significant blow when star guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered what his father described as an Achilles tendon injury just seven minutes into the game. Despite the setback, Indiana managed to keep pace in the first half before fading in the second.
Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Indiana, which started the season 10-15 after 25 games, was attempting to become the first team in NBA history to overcome such a poor start and win a championship. The Pacers held series leads of 1-0 and 2-1 but couldn’t close out the Thunder.
This marks the second championship for the franchise, with the Seattle SuperSonics winning the NBA title in 1979 before the team relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. The victory continues the NBA’s recent parity, as the Thunder become the seventh different champion in seven seasons.
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