OKLAHOMA CITY – It’s do-or-die time for the Indiana Pacers after Monday night’s 120-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
The Pacers must come away with a win in Game 6 to keep their season alive. And if they want an NBA championship, they’ll have to hand the Thunder back-to-back losses, something that happened only twice during the regular season.
Resiliency has been the theme of this Pacers team throughout the season and especially during the playoffs. But there’s a growing sense of unease after Game 4’s late letdown and the Game 5 encore that saw the Pacers trail by 10 points after the first quarter.
The Thunder led by as many as 18 Monday night. To the Pacers’ credit, even as they faced double-digits deficits, they kept grinding away and managed to pull within two in the fourth quarter.
But the same things that have hounded this team against Oklahoma City—turnovers, offensive rebounds and defensive lapses—came back to haunt them in Game 5.
The turnover bug
The Thunder’s stifling defense sped the Pacers up. Instead of playing fast and with pace, they played with frantic desperation.
That led to mistakes. Lots of them.
“We had 23 turnovers for 32 points. I mean, that’s the game. We gotta do a heck of a lot better there,” coach Rick Carlisle said after the game.
“Some of them were self-inflicted,” said Tyrese Haliburton, who had three turnovers and played 34 minutes despite a lower leg injury. “They’re a great defensive team. They really swarm the ball. But we’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the ball. All three of our losses in this series—turnovers have been a big reason why.”
“I do think that they get away with a lot of reaching,” said Pascal Siakam, who had 6 turnovers. “Probably a testament to their defense, but I think they do get away with a lot. Some of those turnovers, I felt they were fouls, but I’ve got to be better.”
Live ball turnovers crippled the Pacers throughout the game. Defensive pressure led to ill-advised passes and tipped balls. On too many occasions, those turnovers led to easy buckets.
Oklahoma City outscored the Pacers 32 to 9 off turnovers.
The TJ McConnell Show
The game could’ve gotten even uglier if not for TJ McConnell.
The veteran guard gave the Pacers a much-needed spark in the third quarter, helping the Pacers pull within single digits.
McConnell played 22 minutes and finished with 18 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He wasn’t spared from the turnover bug, giving the ball away on three occasions. Still, he brought energy and relentlessness on both sides of the ball.
“He was aggressive,” Siakam said. “That’s TJ—that’s what he does. He caught good momentum getting into spots and playing the way he does. That really helped us and put us in position to fight for this game.”
McConnell entered the third quarter with 6:40 left and immediately went to work, dishing the ball to Obi Toppin for a three. He followed that up with a steal.
After an offensive foul led to a turnover, McConnell fueled the Pacers, driving into the paint in search of shots and open passing lanes. A short jumper. A defensive rebound. A driving layup. An assist to Toppin. A step-back jumper. A three-point play.
McConnell scored 13 points in the third quarter on 6 of 8 shooting. He left the game with 10:50 left in the fourth.
“He was very tired, that’s why we got him out,” Carlisle said. “There was a play earlier in the fourth where it looked like fatigue had set in, and then Ty went back in and then that group went on a good run there.”
When McConnell left, the Pacers trailed 92-82. But his energy steadied the team and gave the starters some time to rest. The Pacers responded with an 11-3 run to pull within two.
He didn’t come back, however, until the Pacers were down by 14 with 3:23 left in the game.
Thunder’s decisive run
Siakam made it a two-point game at 95-93 with 8:30 left to cap a run that turned a laugher into a battle. The electric atmosphere at the Paycom Center short-circuited as the Pacers clawed their way back into the game.
“We felt we did a good job in the second half of putting pace in the game and getting out and running,” Haliburton said. “We thought we did a better job in the second half.”
The NBA’s best team had an immediate response, and it started on the offensive glass.
Jalen Williams, a nightmare on a 40-point night, missed a driving layup. The Pacers couldn’t corral the defensive rebound. Isaiah Hartenstein missed the short tip-in, and Cason Wallace grabbed the offensive rebound. He kicked it out to Williams, who connected on a three to make it 98-93.
On the next possession, Andrew Nembhard threw the ball away, leading to a driving dunk by Wallace for a seven-point lead. The Pacers responded with a pair of free throws from Myles Turner to pull within five.
After a Lu Dort three, Haliburton added two free throws to make it 103-97. The Thunder then ripped off ten straight points to take control of the game—and the series. By the end of their extended run, they’d outscored the Pacers 18-4 to take a 113-97 lead.
“They got a second chance opportunity and scored,” Carlisle said. “We had an uncharacteristically bad turnover that turned into a dunk. We called timeout, Myles got fouled and we got it back to five. We didn’t make enough plays, pretty clearly.”
Haliburton and Nembhard had particularly bad stretches during the run, combining for four turnovers that led to seven Oklahoma City points.
Haliburton’s injury
Haliburton played 34 minutes but finished with just 4 points, all from the free throw line. He went 0-6 from the field. On a night when the Pacers needed their star, he wasn’t himself, turning the ball over three times—twice during the Thunder’s decisive run.
“I was not great tonight by any means. It wasn’t a thought for me to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play,” Haliburton said.
He was hobbled by a nagging injury in his right calf. Haliburton didn’t say exactly what the issue was, but it was in the same leg he struggled with in Game 2.
“I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game,” Carlisle said. “We were concerned at halftime. He insisted on playing and I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half. He’s not a hundred percent—there’s a lot of guys in this series that aren’t.”
The coach admitted it would be difficult to pull Haliburton entirely.
“This is a lifetime opportunity. Not many guys are going to sit even if they’re a little banged up. If you’re injured, that’s a different story,” Carlisle said. “We’ll evaluate everything with Tyrese.”
“He’s a fighter. He’s been our rock the whole year,” Siakam said. “He’s a big reason why we’re here. I don’t know exactly what’s wrong, but he’s fighting and going to give everything he’s got. We are a hundred percent behind him and support him. One thing he’s showed is resiliency. He’s showed that all year.”
Game 6 in focus
The Pacers face a decisive Game 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday. If they lose, then Oklahoma City will celebrate a championship on the Pacers’ home floor.
If they win, Game 7 would be Sunday night back at the Paycom Center.
“Our backs are against the wall,” Haliburton said. “We take pride in playing at home in front of our fans, our fans are amazing. We know they’re going to come out with a ton of energy in Game 6. We’re going to have to be able to respond and be better.”
With all the comebacks this year, Haliburton characterized it as “poetic” for his team to face down long odds.
“Nobody said this was going to be easy, so we’ve got to be ready to go for Game 6,” he said. “The fight is always going to be here from this group. We have many different guys who can chip in, and we have shown we’re always going to fight. Going home, there’s not a better opportunity than to fight on your home floor.”
Game 6 is set for 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“We’ll be ready to go.”