The city of Indianapolis Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander talked about his team’s offensive difficulties in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, as the Indiana Pacers kept their opponent to 18 points in the fourth quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander cited the Pacers’ aggressive strategy, which gave Indiana a 2-1 series lead and eventually resulted in a 116-107 loss.
According to Gilgeous-Alexander, the Pacers executed every move well to seal the victory, including how they played both ends of the court. The Thunder will need to battle as the team that wants it more than Indiana if they hope to have a chance to even the series in Game 4.
“I’m not too sure. It felt like they won all the 50/50 plays. They executed on both ends of the ball,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “When you give those two things up, no matter what quarter, you’re probably going to lose the quarter, especially on the road in a hostile environment. We gotta take care of those things if we wanna leave Game 4 with a dub.”
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 9-of-20 attempts, eight rebounds, four assists, and three blocks, but also committed six turnovers. Jalen Williams’ 26 points led the Thunder, and Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds).
The Pacers’ victory in Game 3 was revealed by Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. Particularly in the closing minutes of Wednesday’s nine-point defeat, Daigneault praised the Pacers’ strategy at both sides of the court.
They were far superior than us in the fourth. Give them recognition. After the third, we took control of the match. They beat us in the fourth on both ends,” Daigneault remarked. “We had a great start to the game, and we continued to have a great start in the third. The first and third quarters were dominated by us, but the second and fourth quarters were quite difficult.
