The Oklahoma City Thunder won against the Indiana Pacers for the third time and are only a win from the title in the NBA finals.
The team won 120: 109 at home and now leads 3: 2 after Siegen. Most recently, the Pacers had led 2-1. Indiana reduced an 18-point deficit to only two in the final quarter. The Oklahoma City Thunder then got control of the game and can now make the second championship in its history perfect in the night of Friday in Indianapolis. In the best-of-Seven series, a team needs four victories.
Williams with 40 points of decisive players
The decisive player was Jalen Williams, who came on 40 points for OKC. “This is a really good team, you don’t just stumble into the final. You just have to keep the course, even if the others have a run,” said Williams. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted 31 points and prepared 10 hits. The key to the victory was the strong defensive performance after the weaker phase.
The Pacers meanwhile had to compensate for the weak yield of Tyrese Haliburton, which rejected all six attempts from the game and only collected four points through free throws. Haliburton was visibly struck. The best thrower for Indiana was Pascal Siakam with 28 points.
Hartenstein also hopes for the NBA title
Isiah Hartenstein could thus win the title in the NBA as the second German after Dirk Nowitzki in 2011. He came to four points, eight rebounds and four templates as well as a block and a steal.