Game 7: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
scores 29 points and Thunder beat Pacers 103-91 for NBA title
[June 23, 2025]
By TIM REYNOLDS
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander walked off the court
for the final time this season, collapsed into the arms of coach
Mark Daigneault and finally smiled.
It was over.
The climb is complete. The rebuild is done. The Oklahoma City
Thunder are champions.
The best team all season was the best team at the end, bringing the
NBA title to Oklahoma City for the first time. Gilgeous-Alexander
finished off his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists, and the
Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers — who lost Tyrese Haliburton to a
serious leg injury in the opening minutes — 103-91 in Game 7 of the
NBA Finals on Sunday night.
“It doesn’t feel real,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, the Finals MVP. “So
many hours. So many moments. So many emotions. So many nights of
disbelief. So many nights of belief. It’s crazy to know that we’re
all here, but this group worked for it. This group put in the hours
and we deserve this.”
Jalen Williams scored 20 points and Chet Holmgren had 18 for the
Thunder, who finished off a season for the ages. Oklahoma City won
84 games between the regular season and the playoffs, tying the
1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third most in any season.
Only Golden State (88 in 2016-17) and the Bulls (87 in 2015-16) won
more.
It’s the second championship for the franchise. The Seattle
SuperSonics won the NBA title in 1979; the team was moved to
Oklahoma City in 2008. There’s nothing in the rafters in Oklahoma
City to commemorate that title.
In October, a championship banner is finally coming. A Thunder
banner.
“They behave like champions. They compete like champions,”
Daigneault said. “They root for each other’s success, which is rare
in professional sports. I’ve said it many times and now I’m going to
say it one more time. They are an uncommon team and now they’re
champions.”
The Pacers led 48-47 at the half even after losing Haliburton to
what his father said was an Achilles tendon injury about seven
minutes into the game. But they were outscored 34-20 in the third
quarter as the Thunder built a 13-point lead and began to run away.
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Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) reacts after
guard Luguentz Dort made a 3-pointer during the second half of Game
7 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the Indiana Pacers
Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
“Deflated, but proud of everything we’ve
accomplished,” Pacers guard TJ McConnell said.
Bennedict Mathurin had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, which
still is waiting for its first NBA title. The Pacers — who were
10-15 after 25 games and were bidding to be the first team in NBA
history to turn that bad of a start into a championship — had leads
of 1-0 and 2-1 in the series, but they simply didn’t have enough in
the end.
Home teams improved to 16-4 in NBA Finals Game 7s. And the Thunder
became the seventh champion in the last seven seasons, a run of
parity like none other in NBA history.
Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was part of the Toronto team that won
in 2019, Thunder guard Alex Caruso was part of the Los Angeles
Lakers team that won in the pandemic “bubble” in 2020, Milwaukee won
in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Pacers forward Thomas Bryant and
Denver prevailed in 2023, and Boston won last year’s title.
And now, the Thunder get their turn. The youngest team to win a
title in nearly a half-century has reached the NBA mountaintop.
The Thunder are the ninth franchise to win a title in NBA
Commissioner Adam Silver's 12 seasons. His predecessor, David Stern,
saw eight franchises win titles in his 30 seasons as commissioner.
“It really hurts on the one hand,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
“On the other hand, this team has given all of Pacer Nation
something to be very proud of.”
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