THE ATHLETIC COMMENTARY
INDIANAPOLIS — Since January, the Indiana Pacers have demonstrated their strength in clutch situations. They outscored the Oklahoma City Thunder by more than 20 points in fourth quarters during the NBA Finals, but they squandered a seven-point lead in Game 4.
For much of Friday night, Indiana appeared poised to take a commanding 3-1 series lead against the Thunder. However, self-inflicted mistakes—such as missed free throws, poor rebounding, and conceding second-chance points—along with a stagnant offense contributed to a 111-104 loss that evened the series at 2-2.
“They had 38 free throws, and that was a problem,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “They missed four. We missed eight. The difference of four is significant.
“There are many little things at play, but this series is going to come down to the basics, and our inability to effectively rebound when we needed to was the biggest issue. Getting outrebounded 43 to 33 and permitting a lot of second-chance points made it difficult, and ultimately, impossible.”
Indiana made 25 of 33 free throws in a game that featured 71 combined attempts, while Oklahoma City went 34 of 38 from the line.
“It definitely changed the rhythm of the game,” said Andrew Nembhard regarding the number of free throws taken. “We probably want to foul less.”
Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin, typically an 80 percent free-throw shooter, struggled to match his Game 3 performance and missed three crucial free throws down the stretch when Indiana had a chance to retake the lead.
“It’s definitely tough,” Mathurin said. “I’ve made those free throws before, and I love making tough free throws, but the only thing I can do is make them next time.”
Mathurin also picked up two fouls away from the ball, allowing the Thunder a free throw plus possession each time.
The Pacers lost the offensive rebound battle 12-7 and were outscored 23-11 in second-chance points. They also turned the ball over 15 times.
“Their second shots were a significant problem,” Carlisle noted. “When you can’t rebound, it’s hard to continue to play with pace and tempo. But give them credit; they kept attacking, and their defense was excellent down the stretch.”
Pascal Siakam led the team with 20 points and eight rebounds, along with five steals, four of which came in the first quarter. Tyrese Haliburton contributed 18 points and seven assists but also had five turnovers. Obi Toppin added 17 points and seven rebounds. Despite five players finishing in double figures, Indiana couldn’t close out the game successfully.
“They made shots and got to the free-throw line a lot,” Siakam said. “We just didn’t execute well at the end of the game. Rebounding and turnovers—there’s so much we didn’t do right, and it came at a crucial moment when they made the right plays.”
In the final quarter, the Pacers went cold, scoring only 17 points and managing just five points in the last four minutes. They made just 5 of 18 field goals, missed all eight of their 3-point attempts, and shot only 27.8 percent during the final period. The Thunder played with desperation, and Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 of his 35 points in the final five minutes of the game.
“Fouls were an issue,” Carlisle said. “He’s a great player, and we had a few good stands against him. We had several terrific opportunities that we did not capitalize on. When you’re up seven at home, you have to dig in and find a way, and we were unable to do it tonight.”
As the series shifts to OKC for Game 5, the Pacers face a difficult challenge in a hostile environment and have numerous mistakes to rectify. After leading for most of Game 4, they let the game slip away, appearing disjointed as they missed shots and struggled to maintain their style of play throughout the entire 48 minutes.
“We have to do a better job. I have to do a better job of keeping pace in the game,” Haliburton said. “I did that much better last game, especially down the stretch—keeping pace, getting rebounds, and really pushing. We need to improve our ability to run when we get stops. Too often in that fourth quarter, we were fouling too much, which forced us to take the ball out and run a set play instead of allowing for more free-flowing basketball.”
Despite the loss, the Pacers expressed confidence in their ability to bounce back, as they have done since March.
“We’ve won games on the road before, so I believe we just need to go out there with confidence,” Siakam stated. “We’ll review the film to see what went wrong and work to improve those areas. We just have to execute what we’ve done in the past.
“And we have the confidence that we can do it. It will require a lot of effort, and it will be tough, but I believe we have the right group to achieve that again.”
