Large winner (103-91), Sunday evening in front of his audience in match 7 of the NBA final, of Pacers quickly deprived of their star Tyrese Haliburton, probably seriously injured, OKC won the first title in its history. Even better marker of this meeting, Shaï Gilgeous-Alexander was elected MVP of this final.
OKC had the last word. At the end of a match 7 – the first since 2016, the twentieth in history – which could hardly be more cruel for pacers who had given themselves the right to dream until the end by winning the match 6 at their own and gave everything again to thwart the forecasts, the Thunder won the first title of its history (editor’s note: the franchise had already been crowned in 1979 Seattle Supersonics).
A coronation which owes essentially to the impressive collar stroke that Shaï Gilgeous-Alexander, even better marker of the meeting with 29 points (but also 12 assists) and elected MVP of this final after having also been that of the regular season, and his family gave the return of the locker room in the third quarter, flying over by Mark Daigneault players (34-20), while Indiana Score on a long distance shoot by Andrew Nembhard, had returned to the locker room with one point ahead (48-47).
Unfortunately for these pacers who had finished the regular season in 4th place in the east, they completely collapsed in this period during which they lost nine balloons (21 in total in the match) and stayed … six thirty minutes without scoring a single point. Rick Carlisle and his men especially paid there at a high price the absence on the prosecution of the unfortunate Tyrese Haliburton.
Haliburton struck down after seven minutes!
Despite his right calf injury, the team’s star leader wanted to play this match 7. After an excellent start to the match (9 points, 3 out of 4 to three points), the “Prince Hali” had to abandon his team after seven minutes, struck on an acceleration against Alex Caruso. On the ground, the leader of the Pacers has hit his right hand several times on the parquet, rage but also of pain. In all likelihood, he suffers from a rupture of the Achilles straight tendon.
This final could not end morely for the Pacers, finally returned to twelve points (103-91) after having counted a time of late thanks to a McConnell TJ still amazing (16 points). Thirteen years after the band in Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook stumbled on Miami, the Thunder, he can finally slash champagne.
