Charles Barkley Claims Thunder Have Sealed the NBA Finals After Game 4 Win

Charles Barkley didn’t mince words after Game 4. Speaking on NBA TV, the Hall of Famer declared that this NBA Finals is over. 

"I think they're in trouble because when you have a team on the ropes, you've got to finish them off. If you go up 3-1, you're in great shape. But now, you go back, you know Oklahoma City, number one, they've got a better team." 

"Now they're back to their original starting lineup, which will be better next game. Then they realize, man, we've got to play our bench more, we're back to the thing that got us to the NBA Finals." 

"We're going to go back big, big, we can dominate them on the boards like we did, and they're going back to Oklahoma City. I think this series is a wrap. I thought tonight was a big deal for both teams." 

Barkley, who had called Game 4 a must-win for OKC before the night began, believes Indiana missed its window and that the Thunder now have a stranglehold on the series.

The numbers back him up. Teams that go down 3–1 in the NBA Finals are 1–36 all-time. The only team to ever come back was the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James. 

A 2–2 tie, on the other hand, resets everything. And with Game 5 headed back to Oklahoma City, the Thunder now control home court and momentum.

The Thunder’s 111–104 win over the Pacers wasn’t just about tying the series—it was a turning point. 

Down 10 late in the third quarter, Oklahoma City rallied behind its MVP. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander exploded for 15 of his 35 points in the final 4:38, willing his team to victory. Oklahoma City ended the game on a 16–7 run, with SGA scoring all but one of those points.

And he wasn’t alone. Jalen Williams dropped 27 points. Alex Caruso contributed 20. Chet Holmgren grabbed 15 rebounds to go along with 14 points. 

The Thunder, somehow, pulled off this gritty win with a season-low three made three-pointers and zero assists from SGA, the first time that’s happened all season. It was ugly. It was rugged. But it was necessary.

The Thunder are now 6–0 in the postseason after a loss. Add the regular season, and they’re 18–2 in such games—tied for the best single-season bounce-back record in NBA history alongside the 1950 Lakers, the 1975 Warriors, and the 1987 Showtime Lakers.

Every time they’ve stumbled in these playoffs, they’ve responded with force. Game 4 was no different.

Indiana, for all its explosive energy to start the game, lost control down the stretch. Pascal Siakam scored 20, Tyrese Haliburton had 18, and Obi Toppin added 17, but their fourth-quarter execution collapsed. 

The Pacers had a 10-point lead late in the third, their largest of the series, but couldn’t hold off the Thunder’s surge. Two Flagrant 1 fouls, one from Toppin and one from Lu Dort, marked the game’s physicality, and both benches got emotionally charged.

Now the Thunder head back to OKC with the series tied and momentum on their side. They've won every Game 4 of the playoffs so far. They’re deeper, healthier, and tougher. 

Indiana may still have fight left in them, but the Thunder just reminded everyone why they were the No. 1 seed. With Shai leading the way and the supporting cast rising to the moment, Barkley might be right; this series may have just slipped through the Pacers’ fingers.