Game 7 Will Crown A New Winner

For the first time since 2016, the NBA Finals will come to a close with a Game 7. Whoever pulls out the victory on Sunday will hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, meaning the entire season will come down to the final 48 minutes of the 2024-25 campaign.

This is shaping up to be the cherry on top of an incredible NBA Finals, which has been competitive all the way through, with miraculous comebacks, historic individual performances and phenomenal basketball on both ends of the floor.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a chance to close out the series in Game 6 on Thursday night, but the Indiana Pacers came out with desperation in front of their home crowd and dominated for nearly the entire contest. Ultimately winning 108-91, the game was over by the end of the third quarter, as Oklahoma City waived the white flag and sat its primary rotation pieces to start the fourth quarter and they never stepped back on the floor.

“A lot of it was an offensive issue. I think we were really stagnant. We’ll look at it, learn from it,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault postgame.

Oklahoma City simply didn’t look like itself in Game 6. That’s been a trend in road games of late, which is why the Thunder has gone 3-5 away from home since the end of the opening round of the playoffs. The team wasn’t crisp, the hustle plays went Indiana’s way given the difference in effort and the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd fueled the Pacers on each of their runs, throwing punch after punch.

Luckily for the Thunder, Game 7 will take place at home in front of the OKC home crowd at Paycom Center. Since Oklahoma City earned the best record in the NBA during the regular season, that advantage was determined long ago. The Thunder’s 10-2 record at home in the playoffs is the best in the entire NBA and provides reason for optimism in the final game of the season.

“We put in a lot of work to play that game at home,” Daigneault said after Game 6.

There will be a lot for both teams to look at ahead of Sunday, but that’s especially true for Oklahoma City. The Pacers have found ways to dominate games in this series and carry momentum into Game 7 following the big win on Thursday.

Tyrese Haliburton’s calf injury seemingly played no factor in Game 6, as he looked great on the court and made huge plays when Indiana needed them most. He’ll now have two more days between games to recover and get closer to full strength, though his injury is reportedly one that technically needs multiple weeks to heal.

The dynamic duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams will need to step up on Sunday, as the Thunder’s complimentary pieces and bench have proven to disappear at times in this series. It’s the NBA Finals, so the biggest stars will ultimately dictate the outcome.

“They’re going to go into Game 7 confident, and so are we,” said Jalen Williams on Thursday night.

Game 7 will take place on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. CST on ABC at Paycom Center. An NBA Champion will be crowned, and the 2024-25 season will officially come to an end.