Indiana Pacers Head Coach Credits Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Consistency

The Oklahoma City Thunder tied up the NBA Finals in Game 2 with a lopsided 123-107 win inside the Paycom Center.

Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his run of dominance this postseason with a 34-point, five-rebounds, eight-assists, four-steals and a block while shooting 52% from the floor, 1-for-4 from beyond the arc and 11-for-12 at the line in 37 minutes of action.

Gilgeous-Alexander controlled the game not only as a scorer but as a playmaker. On top of just the eight assists in the box score, the Thunder superstar gave the ball energy, whipping it around to teammates to rack up hockey assists and even saw a few potential assists left on the table after his teammates missed open looks.

Despite Indiana's best efforts –– and constant changing of their coverage in the second half of the League's MVP –– it wasn't enough to even slow down Gilgeous-Alexander. He holds the record for the most points scored (72) in the first two games of his NBA Finals career, passing Allen Iverson (71).

After the game, Rick Carlisle was asked about handling the Oklahoma City Thunder's runs throughout games in which he launched himself into a discussion of the Thunder superstar while being the model of consistency.

"First of all, Wiggins and Caruso played great. Those guys played great. I thought the atmosphere, I thought their crowd was exceptionally great...But you know, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], you can mark down 34 points before they even get on the plane tomorrow, you know, for the next game. The guy's going to score. We've got to find ways to make it as tough as possible on him. Williams played really well tonight. All their guys played well. And so we're going to have to do a lot of things better," Carlisle detailed after Game 2.

Oklahoma City has come to expect efficient 30-plus point nights from Gilgeous-Alexander a year long reputation well earned by the Thunder star. The No. 1 option for the NBA title favorites is just three wins away from capturing his first NBA Championship after bagging his first MVP honor this season.

The Thunder will continue to lean on Gilgeous-Alexander as this series shifts to Indiana on Wednesday for Game 3 of this 1-1 series.