Thunder one win from title, expect ‘best punch’ from Pacers in Game 6

One win away from the first NBA title in franchise history, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault believes preparation for Game 6 of the Finals on Thursday night at Indianapolis boils down to how the other sneaker fits.
“We’re always trying to put ourselves in our opponent’s shoes,” Daigneault said of Oklahoma City’s focus with a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series ahead of the first elimination game of the NBA Finals.
“Zero and zero mindset. We’re not introducing any new concepts right now, we’re just relying on the psychological habits we’ve built over time.”
Perspective might be more challenging for Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle as his squad faces the task of attempting to win two consecutive games against the Thunder with All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton at less than full strength.
Carlise said Wednesday it will be late afternoon or early evening Thursday before the Pacers have a realistic feel for what Haliburton can contribute as Indiana attempts to send the series back to Oklahoma City for Game 7 on Sunday night.
He participated in walkthrough Wednesday, but the 30-minute session involved no “real running” by Carlisle’s assessment.
“I think it depends on who you ask. I have to understand the risks, ask the right questions,” Haliburton said of how he’ll decide to play. “But I’m a competitor. I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play.”
Haliburton scored 22 points and was one rebound shy of a triple-double in Indiana’s Game 3 victory on June 11.
Since that win, a calf strain has hampered his performance, which followed a tweaked ankle in Game 2.
As Oklahoma City turned a 2-1 series deficit to a 3-2 advantage, Haliburton has struggled from the field, hitting just 7 of 21 shots from the field over the past two games, including a 1-for-11 clip from 3-point range. He has totaled just 22 points in 70 minutes.
“You don’t underestimate great players. In the case that he plays, we’re expecting his best punch,” Daigneault said. “You don’t underestimate great teams. In the event he doesn’t play, we’re expecting Indiana’s best.”
Heroes of the series emerged from almost every segment of the rotation.
Haliburton’s near-triple-double in Game 3 was underscored by Indiana’s 49 bench points, 27 from Bennedict Mathurin and five steals from T.J. McConnell. Andrew Nembhard shifted to point guard in Haliburton’s place in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year, when the Pacers overcame a 3-2 series deficit to beat the Knicks in Games 6 and 7.
“I think obviously Tyrese is a big part of what we do. Whether he plays or not, I think it’s going to be a team thing,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said. “We have to together all step up. The importance of the game, we just all have to take a step forward. It’s going to be down the line.
“I don’t think any one of us should feel like one person is going to have to do it. It’s going to be collective.”
Siakam put up 28 points and stepped up in the fourth quarter of Game 5 without Haliburton. More of the same is in order if the Pacers wish to keep up with OKC’s 1-2 punch.
Thunder MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a combined 66 points in Games 4 and 5. But the national spotlight has been shared with Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams, who tallied 67 points over the same span, including a 40-point outburst in Game 5 with the Pacers setting a defense determined to help and force the ball out of SGA’s hands.
“It makes me sound like a jerk,” Williams said of not answering his phone the past week to keep the focus on winning a title. “A big thing for us — we’ve done a really good job of focusing on us.”
Gilgeous-Alexander said being “on the cusp of winning is not winning, and the way I see it, winning is all that matters.” He credited the organization for building the culture and environment to make the Thunder a marvel of a turnaround story.
He said he’s buoyed at this point in the season by the closeness of the locker room and how much fun the entire team is having.
“Focusing on Game 6,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Focusing on just being the best version of myself for this basketball team for whatever it takes — however many games it is, however many possessions are needed, however many moments. Stay in the moment, and just try to stick to that script.”
Oklahoma City led 3-2 in the Western Conference semifinals and lost Game 6 to Denver before a dramatic effort to take Game 7. Williams said Oklahoma City didn’t “come out ready to play” in that Game 6.
Carlisle said the Pacers are leaning on the experience of trailing the Knicks 3-2 last summer, when Gainbridge Fieldhouse turned into an energy-feeding advantage for Game 6.
“Buckle down, stand strong,” Carlisle said of his message to the team.
But with SGA and Williams both averaging over 30 points per game the last three games, Oklahoma City expects nothing less than greatness on Thursday.
“Most of the great players are art. They’re unbelievably unique,” Daigneault said. “That’s every great player. Siakam is like that. Haliburton is like that. They’re one of one. All the great players are. … They’re great players, but they do it inside the team (concept) and don’t suffocate the team.”
Daigneault isn’t yet talking specifically about the spoils at stake Thursday night.
“We’ve tried to take a stack mindset to everything we’ve done. Even when the team was rebuilding. You can’t skip steps in the process,” Daigneault said. “We want to win the game tomorrow.
“But the most important thing we can do is prepare today, prepare tomorrow. Play the first possession really well. And then the next possession. Win today. The minute you start to drift mentally into the future and into the past, it impacts your ability to stack the next thing.”