OKC Thunder Dominate Game 7's Second Half, Capture 2025 NBA Championship

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 29 points and 12 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder won its first championship in franchise history with a 103-91 Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.

The Thunder, as it did all season, dominated the turnover category. Luguentz Dort (3), Alex Caruso (3), Cason Wallace (3) and Jalen Williams (2) each recorded multiple steals. Oklahoma City scored 32 points off 21 Indiana turnovers and only committed seven giveaways.

Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton knocked down three early 3-pointers but suffered a right lower leg injury at the first quarter's 4:55 mark and did not return.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 6-for-15 on 2-pointers, 2-for-12 on 3-pointers and 11-for-12 on free throws. He added five rebounds, two blocks and a steal to complete his storybook season.

Williams registered 20 points on 7-for-20 shooting, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Chet Holmgren sealed off the paint all night, tallying 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting, eight rebounds (two offensive), five blocks and a steal.

The Thunder started Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort, Williams, Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.

The Pacers started Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner.

Nembhard received a Turner screen and drilled a pull-up jumper to start the night. He found Siakam for a wide-open 3-pointer two possessions later — Indiana's first five made field goals were jump shots, including Haliburton's flurry. Gilgeous-Alexander drained two mid-range shots of his own, while Holmgren and Dort each made contested twos to keep Oklahoma City from spiraling. Caruso swished two straight catch-and-shoot threes right after checking in.

Gilgeous-Alexander nailed his third jumper and found Holmgren for a driving floater on consecutive trips, giving the Thunder a game-high four-point lead. Siakam responded with a contested mid-range shot over Holmgren, and Bennedict Mathurin put back his own missed layup to tie the game. Oklahoma City led 25-22 after 12 minutes.

Caruso and Wallace each nabbed three steals by the second quarter's first timeout, helping the Thunder maintain a slight lead despite going cold from the field. Wallace swished a transition three from Gilgeous-Alexander before T.J. McConnell and Nembhard dropped in back-to-back layups. The Pacers then tied the game with two straight mid-range shots. Nembhard converted a long step-back three over Holmgren with 3.6 seconds left, and the Thunder trailed 48-47 at halftime.

Oklahoma City dominated the margins coming out of the break, grabbing four offensive rebounds and two turnovers in the third quarter's first three minutes. Holmgren and Caruso made putback layups, Dort threw up a logo 3-pointer and Williams stripped Mathurin for a tough transition layup to force an Indiana timeout. Turner tied the score with a wide-open pick-and-pop three from Nembhard, but Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams nailed triples in succession to open up the game.

McConnell then exploded for six straight 2-point makes, taking Wallace to the rim and showing off his mid-range touch time and time again. He scored the Pacers' final 12 third-quarter points. The Thunder sustained its advantage by forcing numerous turnovers and making five layups in that stretch, including a Hartenstein tip-in with 29 seconds left. The Thunder led 81-68 entering the final frame.

Both teams combined to shoot 9-for-32 in the fourth quarter.