SGA must ‘apply that pressure back’ for Thunder to win
MADDIE MEYER/GETTY IMAGES
Thunder players walk to the bench during a timeout in the first quarter against the Pacers
in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 11 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
13 Jun 2025
Jenni Carlson
The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK
INDIANAPOLIS — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander caught the ball with Andrew Nembhard charging toward him. A screen freed the Thunder superstar momentarily, and he dribbled toward one of his comfort spots, the free-throw line.
He could stop and pop. He could pull up off the dribble. He could even create his own adventure as he so often does, making highlights almost as frequently as baskets.
Any of those options would’ve been acceptable with the Thunder trailing midway through the fourth quarter in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
But instead, as Tyrese Haliburton closed quickly on Gilgeous-Alexander and Nembhard chased him down, SGA opted instead to pick up his dribble and put himself in a spin cycle, pivoting but taking one too many steps. Turnover.
A traveling call late in the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals game?
From the MVP?
Really?
If you want to understand why the Thunder lost 116-107 to the Pacers on Wednesday night and put itself in an extremely precarious position heading into Game 4 on Friday, that play explains it.
“They were aggressive,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They were high in the pick-and-rolls. They were more aggressive, more forceful. … We’ve got to apply that pressure back, especially if you want to beat a team like that on the road. “Starts with me.”
The Thunder wasn’t the aggressor. Ditto for SGA.
There haven’t been many times this season, or for the past few seasons, that you could say that about Gilgeous-Alexander. Even though he plays with an unhurried pace and unflusterable style, make no mistake — he is the aggressor. He decides where he’s going on the floor. He chooses how he’s going to attack. But in Game 3, he didn’t dictate. The Pacers did.
The result? Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points but only hit 9 of 20 shots and got to the free-throw line just six times.
Worse, though, he committed six turnovers. That’s how many times he turned the ball over in the Thunder’s last three games combined, and the last time he committed that many giveaways, most of us still had our holiday decorations up.
Credit the Pacers for the defense they played against Gilgeous-Alexander. Even though every Indiana player had a hand in it, Nembhard and reserve Ben Sheppard had the primary responsibility. So, what was their secret? “Well, they are giving it their absolute, full-capacity effort all the time,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We have to look at the fouls — maybe there’s some that are avoidable — but look, with him, he’s the MVP.
“You’ve just got to try to make it difficult.”
So, did the Pacers cook up something new defensively against Gilgeous-Alexander? Carlisle is a brilliant coach, so did Indiana find a miracle defense that has eluded every other NBA coach over the past few years?
“I didn’t think they really changed their schemes very much,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I just thought they were sharper with the physicality and the pressure. Their physicality was stronger than our force in a lot of those possessions. Not all of them. Obviously, we had really good stretches of the game, but not enough good stretches of the game to stack up to a win on the road.”
One adjustment the Pacers did make, though, was on the pick-and-roll. They were picking up SGA closer to the midcourt line, something they hadn’t done in the first two games of the series, and that meant the defenders were above the screen.
That action caused a reaction. “When you come off (the screen),” Gilgeous-Alexander said, “you’ve got to go backwards.”
That put him into predicaments near midcourt a few times. And even when there wasn’t a double team or a problem dribbling out of trouble, the Pacers were forcing the SGA and the Thunder to change their rhythm. Maybe they had to start their action later in the shot clock. Or change their point of attack.
There’s a counter, of course, to that counter.
“If we’re more aggressive in the pickand-roll and setting it up, then we get a better angle,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Things like that usually come down to who throws the first punch.”
The Pacers threw a lot of punches Wednesday night, and now, the Thunder finds itself staggered. After losing the opener on a last-second shot, it not only rallied but also showed itself to be the dominant team in Game 2.
Now, however, the Thunder faces a near must-win scenario. Losing Game 4 and going down 3-1 in the series doesn’t mean it’s over, but winning three in a row, including one of those at Indiana, would be extremely difficult. Winning Game 4 is crucial. “You’ve got to be the more forceful team, for sure,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
And like he indicated, it starts with him.
But play again like he did Wednesday, and this series might end with him, too.
Jenni Carlson:
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