SGA, Thunder strike back in dominant Game 2 win

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily: Episode Summary - “SGA, Thunder Strike Back in Dominant Game 2 Win”

Release Date: June 9, 2025

---

1. Game 2 Overview: OKC Stages a Dominant Comeback

Hosts: Kada and Esperaheny
Timestamp: [02:21] – [16:09]

The episode kicks off with Kada and Esperaheny dissecting Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC) and the Indiana Pacers. Following a narrow loss in Game 1, OKC enters Game 2 with heightened pressure and determination to rebound.

Key Points Discussed:

• Early Game Struggles: OKC started the game with higher turnovers, a first in their Finals series history. Kada notes, “They came out trying to really force a lot of things and ended up being a little bit sloppy with the ball in the first quarter” ([02:43]).

• Strategic Adjustments: Esperaheny highlights OKC's decision to incorporate more size into their gameplay: “They played Aaron Wiggins more, who was awesome… Size clearly an important factor here” ([04:53]).

• Shooting Efficiency: OKC dominated the paint, leading to a significant number of open three-point opportunities. Esperaheny states, “They knocked down 38% of their threes in this one” ([05:33]).

• Tyrese Halliburton’s Performance: Initially struggling with defensively imposed limitations, Halliburton finds his rhythm in the fourth quarter, contributing crucial points. Kada remarks, “Tyrese Halliburton had 12 points of his 17 in the fourth quarter” ([07:08]).

• Shea Gilders Alexander’s Impact: Gilders Alexander emerges as a pivotal player for OKC, amassing 34 points and orchestrating the offense with 25 assists. Kada emphasizes, “This is exactly what he wanted… How is Indiana going to counter that?” ([07:36]).

• Indiana’s Defensive Challenges: The Pacers struggled to contain OKC’s offensive strategies, particularly in the paint, leading to inefficiencies on their end. Esperaheny notes, “Both of them, it's just about, can you get into the paint and then make a good decision” ([28:47]).

Notable Quotes:

• Kada: “You cannot allow SGA Cook for an MVP type of night.” ([07:36])
• Esperaheny: “He has to just confidently shoot the ball.” ([11:42])

---

2. Live Post-Game Analysis from Oklahoma City

Reporters: Dave DeFore and Andrew Schlecht
Timestamp: [18:55] – [31:34]

Dave DeFore and Andrew Schlecht provide an in-depth, live breakdown from Oklahoma City following OKC’s commanding victory in Game 2.

Key Insights:

• Thunder’s Resilience: After a shaky start, the Thunder regain momentum by deploying double-big lineups led by Jalen Williams, enhancing floor spacing and aggression. Dave observes, “Chet had a great game for Chet… they were able to just maintain a big lead” ([19:09]).

• Bench Contributions: The Thunder's bench, particularly Caruso and Wiggins, deliver significant scoring, with Wiggins contributing 38 points, including 9 three-pointers. Dave comments, “It was a game that you most likely gonna win” ([21:20]).

• Defensive Strategies: Lou Dort’s defensive efforts on Tyrese Halliburton are highlighted as a game-changer. Andrew states, “He took three shots in the game, but his defense on Halberton had just gotten to his head” ([23:28]).

• Crowd and Atmosphere: The Thunder’s home arena buzzes with energy despite external weather challenges, contributing to an electric game environment. Andrew notes, “It was probably the loudest I've heard it” ([27:18]).

• Looking Ahead to Game 3: Both reporters express optimism about OKC’s chances to carry their momentum into Indiana for Game 3, predicting a pivotal Game 5. Dave concludes, “It's going to be a series that's going to come back here” ([26:28]).

Notable Quotes:

• Dave DeFore: “This was more like what we expected out of the Thunder.” ([18:55])
• Andrew Schlecht: “It's really difficult [to win two in a row on the road].” ([31:34])

---

3. Strategic Takeaways and Future Outlook

Hosts and Reporters’ Conclusions:

• OKC’s Balanced Offense: The Thunder’s ability to balance scoring between starters and bench players creates a multifaceted offense that's hard to defend.

• Indiana’s Adjustments Needed: The Pacers must find ways to penetrate the paint and mitigate OKC’s three-point efficiency to stay competitive in the series.

• Importance of Defensive Matchups: Defensive strategies, particularly against key players like Halliburton and Gilders Alexander, will be crucial in upcoming games.

• Series Momentum: With the series tied 1-1, the next few games will be critical in determining the championship outcome. Both teams have shown adaptability and resilience, setting the stage for an intense continuation of the Finals.

Final Thoughts:

The Athletic NBA Daily provides a comprehensive and engaging analysis of Game 2, highlighting both teams' performances, key players, and strategic adjustments. With OKC asserting dominance in Game 2 and Indiana seeking redemption, the series promises to deliver high-stakes basketball action in the forthcoming games.

---

For more in-depth analysis and daily updates, subscribe to The Athletic NBA Daily on your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Zena]

This message is brought to you by Apple Card For a limited time, Get a new Apple card and get $150 bonus daily cash when you spend $150 or more at Nike in your first 30 days using your new Apple Card with Apple Pay. Visit Apple Co nikepromo for important offer details. Subject to credit approval. Offer valid only for new Apple Card accounts open by June 15, 2025. To qualify, you must spend $150 or more on Nike purchases within the US offer may not be available elsewhere. Additional terms and LIM as we head into the playoffs, it's safe to assume there will be a few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept. But you know what isn't hard to accept? Discover. Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99 of places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard that right, 99. So make a good call for your wallet and get Discover. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn [e-mail] credit card as you've probably heard by now, we've teamed up with BetMGM. This season we'll be using BetMGM lines to make all of our picks and we'll have special offers for our listeners each week. If you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code TheAthletic and you'll get a one year subscription to the Athletic plus up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works. Download the BetMGM app and sign up using bonus code TheAthletic make your first deposit of at least ten dollars plus place your first bet on any game and claim your voucher for a one year subscription to the Athletic. See betmgm.com for terms. U.S. promotional offers. Not available in D.C. mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem call 1-800- gambler available in the U.S. call 877-8-HOPE NY or text hopeny 467-369 In New York, call 1-800- NEXT STEP in Arizona, 1-800-327-5050 In Massachusetts, 1-800-bets off in Iowa, 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help in Michigan, 1-800-981-0023 in Puerto Rico. First bet offer for new customers only in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Don't forget if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code TheAthletic and you'll get a one year subscription to the Athletic plus up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager.

[Kada]

Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily Game 2 of the NBA Finals is in the books. OKC walked out with a win before they go to Indiana. S Berhany. I are here to break it down and Andrew and Dave were in the building. Good morning. S. It's been a minute. How are you?

[Esperaheny]

Good morning.

[Zena]

Good to see you.

[Esperaheny]

Xena.

[Kada]

Good to see you. I loved all the content that came out of okc. Happy that you guys were able to be on the ground for the Game one upset. But things got a little bit back to normal at least for OKC's fans on that side. 123, 107 the final score out in OKC. And by the I don't know if you guys noticed, I wasn't with the team out in okc. I very much miss them. But if you haven't seen any of their content, go to YouTube. There's going to be a lot of stuff up there. Give us a follow, subscribe there. And also if you're hearing our voices, you like the way they sound on podcasts, give us a five star rating. We like that. We like that. Okay, back to this game. Now after that upset, I guess you could call it an upset. 111, 110 Indiana. Tyrese Halliburton holding his neck. It felt as if the pressure was on for okc. And as the way this game started, you could tell they were feeling the pressure. OKC came out trying to really force a lot of things and ended up being a little bit sloppy with the ball in the first quarter. But they eventually cleaned that up. But what do you make of the way that they came out and their focus on trying to beat Indiana from tip?

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, they felt a little tight. You know, it was the first time in a series, at least that I can remember, that OKC actually ended up having more turnovers than their opponent, at least to start the game. That was not the outcome by the end of it, but for that first half it just felt like they were a little bit timid. They obviously went with the same starting lineup that they had in Game one with Case and Wallace starting. And I think that was a fine approach. I understand why they went small, but they actually ended up playing a little bit bigger tonight. That is the clear thing for me that jumped out Chet Holmgren 27 minutes. He played more than he did in game one. Isaiah Hardenstein 22 minutes. He only played 17 in game one. They played Aaron Wiggins more, who was awesome I mean, their bench in general was great. Even Kenrich Williams getting like seven minutes after playing just one in game one. So size clearly an important factor here for okc, even though they still quote, unquote, started small.

[Kada]

You saw Holmgren and, and Hartenstein cooking for each other. The high low was going, but more important, the way that they were used in those high ball picks, it allowed whether it was Shea, Gildis, Alexander, Kayson, Wallace, Isaiah, Joe Wiggins, whoever wanted to come off those screens, Indiana could not guard them. It was as if you're, you know, Obie, Toppin, Turner, whoever was in drop, but not deep enough that it made sense for their guard to recover. But they also weren't up enough in order to be able to help as they were. As you know, the. The ball handler was coming off the screen.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Kada]

And they just ended up riding the hips all the way into the paint. And as you call this out, the paint points were huge. In the first game, OKC did win the paint point battle, but this game, it felt like they dictated the pace of the game because of just how easily they were getting to the rack.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, they did. And you know, the other thing is, like, what do paint touches and paint points create more than anything? It's wide open threes, right? And good looks from three. You can drive, you can kick. And so tonight it was OKC that was knocking down their shots. You know, they knocked down 38% of their threes in this one. Tonight, Indiana only shot 35% from three compared to in game one, they shot 46%. And you think back to how they made that awesome run in game one at the, @ the end of the, you know, basically in the fourth quarter, it was Andrew Nemhard getting downhill, kick out, Obi Top and three kick out. Miles Turner, three kick out. And so that was. But that, that's. That was the success for Indiana, especially in the first half. That did not turn out to be the case tonight. I think it was Halliburton. You know, he was a little timid. I don't know how you felt about this, but especially for the first, I'd say 30 minutes of this game, it felt like he was really struggling to get past okc's defenders and get a paint touch. He had two paint buckets tonight, but for the most part, it did feel like he just couldn't get downhill frequently. And that led to some struggle, some offense. Offense for Indiana where it's like, all right, who's going to help us get some easy shots? Because it wasn't Halliburton doing so he obviously turned it up in the fourth quarter, but the game was basically done by them.

[Kada]

Exactly. Tyler Halliburton had 12 points of his 17 in the fourth quarter and it was like you need. But this has almost been the story of Tyrese Halliburton. He hasn't even last game when he hit that unbelievable clutch shot to put them up one.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah. Didn't have a crazy game, right?

[Kada]

Didn't have a crazy game. It wasn't until the last bit that he was able to show show up. But let's go on the opposite side of the ball. Who showed up the entire game except for that first quarter again with those turnovers? Shea Gilders Alexander.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah.

[Kada]

Ends up with 34 points. And but you look at the way that OKC won this game and this is also indicative of how Shea Gildas Alexander played this game, made 40 shots and had 25 assists in comparison to Indiana that had 37 shots, made 37 shots and had 27 assists. So even though they won that ratio, it was a lot more ISO ball, a lot more coming off the pick and roll, going straight into the paint, getting what they want. And sprinkled here and there were those kick out threes. Shea Gildrus. I felt as if the defense that was set up tonight for Indiana, this was his meal, this was his bread and butter. This is exactly what he wanted. How is Indiana going to counter that? You cannot allow SGA Cook for an MVP type of night. This being his 13th 30 point game in the playoffs. The most since Giannis since 2021.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah. And 72 points through the first two games in his finals debut. That is the most since Allen Iverson in 2001. So like in terms of scoring, he is getting whatever he wants against Indiana's defense. And I think a part of that is sort of. It's weirdly by design from the Pacers. Obviously you don't want to let just the MVP of the league go off, but it's either. I think Indiana, at least in game one was like, all right, we're going to allow for Shay to go and get his shots up. He took 30 shots. Right. Struggle from the mid range area compared to tonight where he was pretty effective. In game two though, the other guys were also hitting their shots, so you kind of have to pick your poison. It's like, all right, are we going to just allow the superstar, the guy to be the guy to kill us tonight or is it going to be the stars tonight? It was both of them from okc, because obviously, like we mentioned, Caruso and Aaron Wiggins were just massive in this game. Combined for 38 points. Knocked down 6 of 6, actually 9 of 16 from 3. That's just huge off the bench. Guys who are knocking down shots who are able to give you that extra boost offensively. And you know, we've talked about this a bunch on the podcast, but like the depth that OKC has to be able to go to those options when other guys aren't necessarily knocking down their shots. That combination with the way Shai was effectively getting downhill, it was just a recipe for disaster for Indy tonight.

[Kada]

Yeah, I feel like I hope Dave and Andrew are going to go more into particularly Caruso just being so much more aggressive to the ball. Not letting his game only be represented by the defense that he provides, obviously, but just being way more aggressive. So we'll let them kind of go into it. But as I got to ask about this Indiana side because Tyrese Halliburton being a non factor until the fourth quarter is not. Not okay, you know, Aaron Neesmith, even 14 points, 5 of 12 from the floor. Andrew Nemhard, 11 points total, 4 of 8 from the floor. Like, yes, pretty efficient with the shots he took, but not enough production out of these guys. What's going to be the X factor? Because I think the game 1x factor, huge one was Obi Toppin. And if you looked at some of the passes he was making tonight, some of the decision making that the OKC defense, in my opinion, forced them to make. Right. It was that amoeba man defense that looks like a zone, but it's really, man, they're swarming, they're diving, they're digging in. It forced Indiana to feel sped up and they like to play fast, but at their rate. So I'm looking at the Indiana side, who's going to be your X factor to kind of clean this up as they're trying to go to okc. Excuse me. Go to Indiana and take care of home court.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, I. I do think this is like, this is a Pascal series in the sense that he needs to be the determining factor for them offensively. Yes, of course, Halliburton is the engine that makes them go. But tonight, three of 11, there was this clip. I don't know if you saw it, but there was this clip of him and Halliburton talking at some point in the first half and he's like, hey, keep sealing. I got you. And he's like, man, I'm trying, you know?

[Kada]

Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

And that, that Goes to show you the effectiveness of OKC's defense, especially in the post, where they're making life hard on Pascal as soon as he catches the ball. I think part of that is how they're able to disguise their actions. The Pacers at least disguise their actions to get Siakam going a little bit more off of movement. The other thing is he has. He has to just confidently shoot the ball. You know, I thought there were a couple times in this game where he felt a little timid, and that is credit to OKC's defense. But if he is able to put pressure on OKC with his scoring, it just opens up more options for them, especially if he can get in the paint, create a mismatch, and then open up wide open shots for them. That's the guy, I think, moving into game three and how they do this. I also, you know, I'm going to give you a little bit of a bold prediction, Zena. I think we come out of game four and it's two. Two. How do you feel about that?

[Kada]

I.

[Esperaheny]

You think. You think Indiana can get. Get one at home? I feel like that's a pretty good. You know.

[Kada]

Yeah, I absolutely think they're capable. I mean, after game one, I think they're capable. I originally said OKC in five, and I think game one definitely made me go okay. I knew every game was going to be close.

[Esperaheny]

Right, Right.

[Kada]

Obviously, this one was not. OKC had to get their lick back. They gave up a game at home.

[Esperaheny]

But we've seen them do this, though. We've seen them do this, right? Yeah, they respond.

[Kada]

So Indiana's definitely very capable of it. Now, before we let Dave and Andrew report from actually being inside the building, I gotta ask you, we all sell those trophies on that court. And I got. I'm just gonna go ahead and put my complaint in. Everyone's been getting their complaints off on the social media sites. This is crazy, y' all. You want folks to tune in? You want folks to feel like there's a gold standard to your championship league, NBA. What are you doing? Cause first and foremost, those trophies are digitally imprinted onto the court, which means that the switch out to add the finals script later on. Great. Appreciate it could have been done before you could have tested the two out. The fact that you had them available, like, I feel as if this feels like a lackluster. They talk about everyone wanting to understand and respect the final story. These are two great basketball teams. Gonna be the best basketball ever played, but I feel like NBA. Are you respecting It. In the same way by not doing this.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, look. I mean, look, we covered the playing tournament and the NBA cup thoroughly. Very, very thoroughly. We talked about the court designs. We talked about how often. I mean, they. They really designed those courts to. To some people not necessarily even enjoying those courts. Right, right. Why not do that for the biggest series of your league of the NBA Finals? Right. Just lean into it. If it is about players slipping, then that also applies to the NBA cup and the jerseys and. And the. The courts that we see there. So why not just lean into it for the NBA Finals? I think the. The actual Finals script was better than the little emoji Larry o' Brien trophies that they had out there.

[Kada]

That's exactly what it was.

[Esperaheny]

That was crazy.

[Kada]

They were emojis.

[Esperaheny]

They look like emojis. They look. You. You might as well throw crying emojis on that. Just, you know, just to see how people would think. I agree with you. I agree that that was silly. I think they could have tested out a couple of different options here. You know, if you go and look at like old, old finals games from the early 2000s and they have that big Larry O' Brien trophy behind the logo, they could do that digitally. Digitally, you know.

[Kada]

Exactly.

[Esperaheny]

The world is your oyster.

[Kada]

Correct. The creativity is there, especially because we know that the NBA wants to make people feel immersed into this experience. There were so many different ways that they could play. And guess what?

[Esperaheny]

Presentation is everything.

[Kada]

Correct. The series isn't over. So again, I'm hoping that NBA officials are the same people that we told at the top of this show to like and subscribe and are listening and giving us five stars. I will take a lower star if you are going to change the court NBA. I will.

[Esperaheny]

Just saying. I'm just saying. I tweeted in the middle of the first half and I said, look, they could have just put the finals logos on there. And they did it, Xena.

[Kada]

They did it.

[Esperaheny]

So I'm just. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. I'm just saying.

[Kada]

Clock it.

[Esperaheny]

We got ideas here on the NBA Daily folks.

[Kada]

There you go. You literally spoke it into existence. Okay, now we gotta flop over to the folks that were actually there that didn't get to see these in person, but they got to see a lot of the action. Dave and Andrew, take us into the game at okc.

[Zena]

This message is brought to you by Apple Card. For a limited time, get a new Apple card and get $150 bonus daily cash. When you spend $150 or more at Nike in your first 30 days using your new Apple card with Apple Pay. Visit Apple Co nikepromo for important offer details. Subject to credit approval. Offer valid only for new Apple Card accounts open by June 15, 2025. To qualify, you must spend 150 do dollars or more on Nike purchases within the U.S. offer may not be available elsewhere. Additional terms and limitations apply. As we head into the playoffs, it's safe to assume there will be a few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept. But you know what isn't hard to accept? Discover. Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99 of places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your wallet and get discovered. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com creditcard as you've probably heard by now, we've teamed up with BetMGM this season we'll be using BetMGM lines to make all of our picks and we'll have special offers for our listeners each week. If you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code TheAthletic and you'll get a one year subscription to the Athletic plus up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works. Download the BetMGM app and sign up using bonus code TheAthletic. Make your first deposit of at least ten dollars. Place your first bet on any game and claim your voucher for a one year subscription to the Athletic. See betmgm.com for terms. U.S. promotional offers not available in D.C. mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem call 1-800- gambler available in the U.S. call 877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY 467369 in New York, call 1-800- NEXT STEP in Arizona, 1-800-327-5050 in Massachusetts, 1, 800, bets off in Iowa, 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help in Michigan, 1, 800-981-0023 in Puerto Rico, first bet offer for new customers only in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Don't forget, if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code TheAthletic and you'll get a one year subscription to the Athletic plus up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager.

[Dave DeFore]

Hey, it's Dave DeFore and Andrew Schlecht here in Oklahoma City live Post Game Game 2. Andrew. The Thunder blow out the Pacers, which is what they kind of do after they lose a game. This was more like what we expected out of the Thunder.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah, there's no question. This one didn't start though, like a game that, that I thought OKC would blow them out. The Pacers were hanging around. They kind of had the game in the mud a little bit early and the Thunder just could not find their footing. And it really wasn't until the Thunder went to lineups with Jalen Williams leading them. And then they actually went double big.

[Dave DeFore]

Double big about with about 350 left in the first quarter. And I was tracking this because I wanted to see just what, what it looked like when they were double big. They finished that first, that first rotation with Hartenstein and Chad plus one. But what it really, what I saw was it opened up Chet to stretch the floor and he had a couple big shots. Much better game than game one. I mean really the difference was Chet had a great game for Chet. And then, you know, you get that contribution off the bench from Caruso and Wiggins and they were able to just, really just maintain a big lead for the rest of the game. They withstood a 100 run from the Pacers and it's, you know, it started to get a little tight in here. I mean, I think that I can't be the only one that even with a 20 point lead in the fourth quarter, thought there was some chance that Halliburton and the Pacers are going to pull it off.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah, the entire game felt like a two point game for okc. The crowd, it felt like that until we saw Johnny Furfy's face on the court. It felt like anything can happen because that is, I mean, we've seen 16 point leads evaporate in a matter of seconds. And so this Pacers team, they just, they just hang around and they were hanging around for a lot of this game. And the Thunder just kind of kept punching back over and over again. And you have to look at Aaron Wiggins and Kendrick Williams is going to be overlooked by almost everybody because Aaron Wiggins had the big scoring night. He played great. He was cooking people off the dribble. But Kendrich Williams came in and played really, really well. I think they were a plus 15 on the scoreboard with him in the game. And he just brought an aggression that the Thunder needed that they didn't really have. Game one, he allows them to go small. He actually allows them to play big too because he played next to Chet at the Four. And you're talking about a guy that's six' six, but he plays bigger than six' six. And so he just allows them a different look than what they were giving in Game one.

[Dave DeFore]

And it actually worked really, really well for the Thunder, because what the Pacers like to do is they like to wear you down. They like to wear you out. This is how they manufacture these comebacks. And then the Thunder had that extra energy late in the game. You know, part of that is, again, when your bench contributes in the way that the Thunder bench did tonight. I mean, Wiggins and Crusoe, nine threes, 38 points. That's a game that you most likely gonna win. But with that sort of energy, I feel like it just carried him through the fourth. And, you know, you mentioned Furfy coming in, Pacers pulling their starters with two and a half minutes left. And I'm thinking to myself, are you sure it's. It's over.

[Andrew Schlecht]

I know that's how it. That's how it felt to me. It felt really strange. Another point of emphasis was very clearly, do not let Obi Toppen shoot threes.

[Dave DeFore]

Right?

[Andrew Schlecht]

He had guys. He had one and two defenders flying at him anytime he was out there. And so he really didn't get many clean looks tonight.

[Dave DeFore]

Uncomfortable, actually, with the ball. Pressure again. The Thunder did a really good job pressuring the bigs, especially Miles Turner, you know, fumbled a ball out of bounds. I mean, it just seemed like they had butterfingers all night. Now, they didn't have the major turnovers. I mean, 15 turnovers for the Pacers in the game, it wasn't like game one, but those guys still look uncomfortable putting the ball on the floor. And I thought the Thunder did a really good job of making sure the ball found them.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah, without a doubt. And the Thunder also just converted in the paint. Yeah, like, simple as that.

[Dave DeFore]

Like, they made layups big difference from game one.

[Andrew Schlecht]

I think they were like 40% on layups in game one, and then they were closer to 60% on layups in game two.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. I want to talk about Tyrese Haliburton a little bit before we get to the Thunder side of this, because.

[Kada]

A little bit.

[Dave DeFore]

This is one of the reasons why I think that overrated label attached itself to Tyrese Halliburton. A game like this, you know, he has that. That big game winner. Which Game one. He was not great. Okay. It was not a. An amazing Haliburton game. But then he comes back in game two, and he only takes seven shots through the first three quarters and then he goes five of six in the fourth. I mean, he was on fire in the fourth. And again, this is why I thought, are you sure they're not going to come back? But, you know, that sort of. It's. I don't want to call it passivity because part of it is way the Thunder attacked him. Lou Dort bodied him up all night.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yep.

[Dave DeFore]

And Lou Dort really deserves more credit than he's going to get if you just peep the box score. He took three shots in the game, but his defense on Halberton had just gotten to his head.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah. It's a point of emphasis for them to try to really shut him down. And if you can. The thing about him is he needs a little bit of space to get off a shot. He's not like most scores. He's not like an Anthony Edwards who's going to, like, get his shots for a game or even Shea. Yeah. Like Shay's gonna get his shots. No matter who's defending him, no matter what's happening on the court, he's gonna get his shots. Halbrand's a little bit different. He just affects the game in a different way, too. And Jalen Williams was talking about it post game that, like, he's gonna affect the game when he's out there. He's gonna affect it with his passing, with his movement. I mean, a lot of times they'll put him in the corner. Like, you have to pay attention to him. You know, he's always going to have some attention. And so whether or not he's affecting the game via the box score. Yeah, like he's going to affect the game for the Pacers.

[Dave DeFore]

And with Halliburton, we saw him post game a little limp in his step.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Post game. Everybody by now has probably seen the video. You know, he's kind of slowly walk. Walking out of the gym. So that's something to watch for. Game three, want to swing it to Shea. Puts up 34 points. It's 72 points in his first two NBA Finals games. It's the most since Allen Iverson.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Which, you know, pretty good comp. This guy's getting comp to legends every single game, it feels like. But all of their offense, really, it just seemed like it came easily for him. He was able to split all these, These pick these traps in the pick and roll it. Runway to the basket all night long for him.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah, this was a typical Shay game. Yeah, it looked like he was. It took him a game to calibrate a Little bit on how to play against the Pacers. There was a lot of talk about how different the Pacers play, and they look a lot like the Thunder in a lot of ways, the way that they swarm and the way they play offensively. But it's taken the Thunder a minute to figure out how to deal with them, and it even took them a minute tonight. Yeah, like I said earlier. And so I do think that Shea looks more comfortable. J Dub looked more comfortable against them. Chet was more aggressive. Felt like he was pressing a little bit at the beginning of this.

[Dave DeFore]

At the beginning? Yeah. He fumbled the ball, you know, trying to make a move to the basket. But then he follows it up. He hits a couple big threes. He has that one nice drive, which was something that I brought up after game one. I thought I would see more of that out of him against the Pacers because there are opportunities there. Miles Turner is a pretty good defender on the perimeter. But you think that Chet's ability to put the ball on the floor when the Pacers are in rotation, he would just get more shot attempts driving to the basket or at least to be able to kick out to an open 3. But we saw a little bit of that tonight. I still think there's more on, you know, a little bit more meat on that bone for him in this series, but it was. I think that's. This is a confidence builder night for him.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah, I agree. I think it just. It takes time. I also think the Thunder with long layoffs, they've not been very good.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Andrew Schlecht]

And so I think that they're just better when they can play more basketball. And so I think that they're. They're settling into this series. It's 1:1 heading back to Indianapolis, and who knows what's going to happen from here.

[Dave DeFore]

Look, the nice thing about having a big lead going into fourth is that your fourth quarter execution is not really going to be put to test.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah, true.

[Dave DeFore]

You're closing the game with Jalen Williams. That's a pretty nice season.

[Andrew Schlecht]

The other one who got a standing ovation by the way, first time he's played minutes in this series, and the crowd loved it.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, the guys who were getting finals minutes is actually kind of cool. Like, again, Johnny Furfee plays in the NBA Finals game. Right. It takes a blowout to get him in, but, you know, it happens. What about the vibe in the arena? Like, did you feel like the crowd was more nervous tonight than they were during the comeback in game one?

[Andrew Schlecht]

Definitely, yeah. The nerves from the beginning and they used it to kind of fuel them more than it was like, oh, my gosh, what's going to happen here? It was more of, we are going to be the sixth man tonight for you. We are going to be so loud. It was probably the loudest I've heard it.

[Dave DeFore]

And there was. There's a huge tornado warning and there's a giant storm happening outside of the building. And had no idea. This is, again, one of the loudest arenas I've ever been in. And you wouldn't know that. There's like, you know, these are Oklahomans, man.

[Andrew Schlecht]

You know who's like, you know who's scared is like the media members who are like, grabbing me in the hallway, like, hey, how bad is this? How bad is this storm? And us Oklahomans are like, listen, every.

[Dave DeFore]

Stairwell in this arena says it's a shelter situation. In a case of emergency, hit the stairwell. So if you're ever in okc, Any other things from game two on your mind?

[Andrew Schlecht]

I think it's all about getting in the paint for both these teams. Both of them, it's just about, can you get into the paint and then make a good decision. Chet talked about how they were able to get into the paint and kind of slow down. He said in the first game that it felt like they were kind of pressing a little bit as they were getting into the paint and they missed so many layups and so many shots in the paint. So I think that the fact that they knew to get there and then to spray out, which helped a lot, and to get there and also take these mid range shots that are there for you. We saw that with Kayson. Wallace, who's a guy who didn't play well in Game 1, looked a lot better in Game 2. He's able to convert on a shot right at the beginning of the game and then convert it on shots right in the paint. And so I do think that that is probably one of the biggest things. And for the Pacers, too. The Pacers have got to figure out ways to get paint touches.

[Dave DeFore]

Halliburton took two shots in the paint in this game. Just, again, I don't want to call it passivity because that takes away the credit from the Thunder defense, who's just making it work for everything. Swinging it to game three. It's going to Indy. In my gut, this feels like a series that's going to come back here. 2, 2, game 5. Do you feel like that or. Because I think it's closer than we were willing to admit coming into it.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah. I do think this is clearly them getting game one right.

[Zena]

Huge is huge.

[Andrew Schlecht]

And oftentimes in series like this, it's hard to win two games on the road.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Andrew Schlecht]

I do think this is a. We're going to get a pivotal. Game five is what I think that we're going to get. I think that that is where this series is heading and then this series will really be decided. Like, can the Thunder actually win two games in a row and get game six in Indianapolis?

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Schlecht]

So we'll see. I do think the Thunder have the upper hand. They've played better. Right. For a vast majority of these two games and it's. Can they carry that over into Indy if they can't? I think the Thunder have the capability of getting two there.

[Dave DeFore]

Sure.

[Andrew Schlecht]

But more than likely they're going to get one of these two. We'll be back here for game five, and the Thunder will be trying to turn this in their favor.

[Dave DeFore]

The big thing that the Pacers have to do is they have to run the Thunder off the three point line. And I know that's a funny thing to say because we talked about how they struggled to shoot, but the, the one thing that the Pacers have to win at is they have to make more threes than the Thunder. That is going to be their game. They've got to win. The math problem there. They're probably not going to win the possession battle. Although tonight, same number of shots for Both teams, but plus 10 and make free throws for the Thunder, which, you know, I mean, that, that's huge in a game like this. So, you know, look again, Game three adjustment for the. For the Pacers, you got to make shots, but you got to be able to take them. These guys look like they were just blanketed all over. I don't know how they're going to free guys up with the way that the Thunder are playing.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah. The Thunder defense looked like itself tonight.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Schlecht]

And especially if Halbrand's. If there's something about him that's not right, which there's a lot of things about these guys that aren't right at this point in the season. But if he's not right and he can't get right for these two games.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Look for the Thunder to take advantage of that.

[Dave DeFore]

Absolutely. And even more ball pressure when he touches the ball.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

That takes us to our bet. MGM pick of the night. We're looking ahead to game three in Indy. No weird weather outside, probably. You know, I don't know if these guys are going to get their direct flight and not have to stop in Tulsa. Are you taking the Thunder in Game three or you think think Indy gets to swing this back because they go home?

[Andrew Schlecht]

I'll take the Thunder in game three.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, feels like that to me. I'm going to take the Thunder in Game three and then Game four. I do think the Pacers will pick it back up. It's again hard to win two in a row on the road.

[Andrew Schlecht]

It's really difficult.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, guys, that's going to do it for the show. Thanks to Zena, Kada and Esperaheny back home, Andrew Schlecht, the mayor of Oklahoma City, by the way, the pod father. Everyone was so nice to us while we were here and it's thanks to this guy. Also, shout out to Amy get well soon guys. Thanks for waking up with us.

[Zena]

Heads up Trading Card Collectors it's easier than ever to get your cards graded with grading by PSA now on ebay listings. All you got to do is find the card you want, add grading and make your purchase. Yeah, just like that. Plus, for a limited time, shipping from PSA to you is free. It's the easy way to build an epic collection. Learn [e-mail] PSA as we head into the playoffs, it's safe to assume there will be a few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept. But you know what isn't hard to accept? Discover Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your wallet and get Discover. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com credit card when.

[Kada]

It'S the NWSL season, I'm locked in.

[Zena]

I'm streaming matches on prime video, breaking down plays in real time and queuing.

[Kada]

Up hype tracks on Amazon Music.

[Zena]

Amazon prime helps me stay ready, whether it's fast delivery for last minute watch party snacks or digging into behind the scenes content between games.

[Kada]

For me, following the league isn't a hobby, it's a full time passion.

[Zena]

Whatever you're into, it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.comprime to get more out of whatever you're into.