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The NBA final starts on Thursday night in a battle for two small market teams that have proven they belong.
The title runs through Oklahoma City, as Thunder, No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, plays the host of Indiana Pacers.
OKC went 68-14 during the regular season when the MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a leader.
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Oklahoma City Thunder Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, #2, drives to the basket next to Indiana Pacers Guard Tyrese Haliburton, #0, during the second quarter of the Paycom Center. (Alonzo Adams Preferred Pictures)
As for Pacers, they are the heavy lower dogs, after winning 18 fewer games. However, their 50-32 record was good for fourth in the east.
Indiana is in her first final since 2000, and the story repeated itself this year. Like that team 25 years ago, they defeated New York Knicks to get hit. They had previously beaten their division rivals in Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in five and six matches respectively before taking New York down into six competitions.
It’s a bit of a magical carpet trip for Pacers who have had miraculous comebacks this fall season. In nearly 1,500 playoffs since 1997, only four times one team left to win after drawing with seven-plus points in the last minute of the fourth quarter or overtime pacers have won three of these matches this season alone. A win would be their first NBA title, but they won three ABA championships in the early 1970s.
Indiana Pacers Guard Tyrese Haliburton, #0, creates a choke movement against New York Knicks after hitting a shot at the end of the fourth quarter of Game 1 by NBA Basketball Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 in New York City. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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However, Thunder is another animal – they had by far the best defensive assessment in the association. They had problems with Denver Nuggets and beat them in seven games in the second round, but they took care of business against Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals in five matches.
They swept Memphis Grizzlies to begin their playoff sought.
OKC is in his first final since Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden lost against Miami Heat, who was in their second year of the big three, consisting of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. OKC’s three-headed Monster Four years later, a 3-1 series of leads to 73-9 Golden State Warriors (James returned to the benefits of Cleveland Cavaliers), and in recent years it has been a huge match for Thunder.
However, this is by far the best team they have had since they have been running from Seattle in 2008, and a victory would be their first since he was heading east. Supersonics won the title in 1979.
Oklahoma City Thunder-Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, #2, and Forward Chet Holmgren, #7, celebrate after a game against Minnesota Timberwolves in the third quarter of match two of the Western Conference Finals for 2025 NBA Playoffs at the Paycom Center. (Alonzo Adams Preferred Pictures)
The final format is 2-2-1-1-1, with games 1 and 2 in Oklahoma City on Thursday and Sunday, and Games 3 and 4 in Indianapolis next Wednesday and Friday. If necessary, Game 5 would take place on June 16 back in Oklahoma with game 6 in Indy three days later. Game 7 would be back in OKC on June 22.
