Pacers Magic Fades in Final Minutes of Game 4 Loss to Thunder

In the grand scheme of things, the Indiana Pacers' 111-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the NBA Finals was a heartbreaking disappointment. The Pacers had led for most of the second half, and with 3:20 remaining, a Tyrese Haliburton driving layup gave them a 103-99 advantage. It seemed like a 3-1 series lead was in sight for the Pacers, who have a history of stealing games in the clutch. However, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outscored Indiana by himself, 11-1, over the final three minutes, delivering a series-saving victory in the clutch. The league's MVP had been held in check (20 points on 21 shots) through the first three-and-a-half quarters, but he delivered a legacy game in the final moments. Despite leading most of the game, the Pacers struggled to maintain their pace in the fourth quarter. They logged just one assist on their five made field goals, and their pace slowed as they could not get stops on the other end. One of the most pass-happy offenses in the league turned to isolation basketball when the title was in full view. "I have to do a better job of keeping pace in the game," said Haliburton. "We have to do a better job of, when we do get stops, getting out and running. A lot of times in that fourth we were fouling too much, taking the ball out, trying to run something vs. just random basketball. I've got to do a better job there." The Pacers' struggles were not helped by free throw misses from Ben Mathurin, who missed 3 of 4 free throw attempts in the game's final 24 seconds. The Thunder out-rebounded the Pacers, 8-3, over the game's final 12 minutes, scoring eight points on their four offensive rebounds. Despite the underdog status of the Pacers, former Indianapolis Colts punter turned ESPN personality Pat McAfee hyped up the crowd with a wrestling-style promo, as the Pacers led, 89-86, with 9:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, from that point on, the Thunder outscored the Pacers, 25-15, shooting 64% (7-11 FG) to Indiana's 29% (4-14 FG). The loss was a disappointment for the Pacers, who had a chance to take control of the series but failed to capitalize on it. "We've got to bounce back," said head coach Rick Carlisle. "I don't need to motivate these guys. I think they have a sense of where they are. But this kind of a challenge is going to have extreme highs and extreme lows. This is a low right now, and we're going to have to bounce back from it." The Pacers will have three more chances to right the ship and take control of the series against the heavily favored Thunder. But for one night, their magic ran out, and they will have to dig deep to come back stronger on Monday.