3 Takeaways From OKC Thunder's Comeback Game 4 Win Over Pacers

Game 4 was about as necessary a win as they come for the Oklahoma City Thunder. If not, it would go down 3-1 — a severely difficult number to come back from.

Behind a bounce-back game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder did what it needed and took a 111-104 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Going back to Oklahoma City in Game 5, it'll have all of the momentum in an equally important game.

The Pacers certainly put up a fight, but the Thunder was just better, despite not being 100% on all fronts of the game. Additionally, a few of its players dealt with injury scares down the stretch, including Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

The win was gutsy, but it was a win nevertheless.

Here are three takeaways from the seven-point victory:

Winning Without 3-pointers

On most other nights, a 3-point shooting clip as bad as what Oklahoma City did on Friday would certainly keep a team away from a win. However, it managed to make that less of an issue than usual.

As a unit, the Thunder shot 3-of-16 from behind the arc. Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso each finished with one made attempt, while the rest of the roster went scoreless from deep. No player shot egregiously badly, but combined, it was lackluster to say the least.

Luckily for Oklahoma City, Indiana's 11-of-36 clip was far and away from what it shot in Game 3. Tyrese Haliburton shot just 1-of-7 on his attempts, while Myles Turner went 0-for-6. Neither team could make it a focal point.

To close out the series, the Thunder can't afford to shoot quite this bad again. Driving to the basket and drawing free throws is helpful when the shot isn't on, but to rack up big points, it might be a necessity.

Finding a Way to Close Out

Throughout this series and the playoffs, there have been times where Oklahoma City struggles to perform down the stretch. That included Game 3 against the Pacers, which cost it a big game on the road.

Last night was different. The Thunder entered the fourth quarter down 87-80, but pulled off a comeback to finally take a lead at the 2:23 mark. After that, it held off any retaliation that Indiana might've been attempting to make, while Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 of its last 11 points.

Gilgeous-Alexander looked rather off in the first half, but stepped up when Oklahoma City needed its MVP to. The guard finished with 35 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, all in 40 minutes of action.

The Thunder proved itself to be able to handle the Pacers in crunch-time — where its opponent excelled all throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. In the last two wins, it needs to clinch a championship, both teams will likely find themselves in this position down the stretch again.

Holmgren, Williams Play to Their Standards

Holmgren and Williams have received their fair share of criticism for backing down in big moments during this series, but both provided gutsy performances through injury scares late in the game to help Oklahoma City come out with a win.

Williams had his best game of the Finals so far, finishing it with 27 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-18 shooting from the field. He got to the charity stripe at a higher rate than usual, going a perfect 11-of-11 on his attempts.

Holmgren's 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting weren't his strongest by any means, but he was active on the glass throughout the night. The big man grabbed 15 rebounds — including four on the offensive glass. That helped the Thunder take the advantage in that area 12-7.

Gilgeous-Alexander can take Oklahoma City to victory, but he can't do it in the finals without Williams and Holmgren rising to the occasion. They did it in Game 4, and in Game 5, it's going to be just as important to remain impactful.