Oklahoma City Thunder pack counterpunch in Game 2 even series with Indiana Pacers

OKLAHOMA – Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander learnt a lesson to open the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.

“You can’t just throw the first punch. You’ve got to throw all the punches all night,” the guard said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the visiting Indiana Pacers on June 8.

Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder threw plenty of haymakers, helping Oklahoma City to a 123-107 victory to even the best-of-seven series 1-1 going into Game 3 on June 11 in Indianapolis.

That was a departure from Game 1 on June 5, when the Thunder led by 15 in the fourth quarter before Indiana came back to win the game 111-110 on a basket in the final second.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way on June 8 for Oklahoma City, scoring 34 with eight assists, five rebounds and four steals, and went 11 of 12 on free throws.

There were plenty of areas of improvement from Game 1 for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to point out after the victory.

Oklahoma City had more success turning Indiana’s turnovers into points at the other end, got better production from centre Chet Holmgren and forward Jalen Williams, had nearly double the assists after posting a season-low 13 in Game 1, and got an offensive spark off the bench from Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins.

Daigneault said none of those alone were the difference maker, but all came together for a much better result for his team at Paycom Centre.

“We were just a little bit better in a lot of areas,” he said.

The biggest stretch of the game came in the second quarter, when the Thunder ripped off a 19-2 run that was fuelled by both their defence and Gilgeous-Alexander’s finishes on the other end.

To that point, Oklahoma City’s