For the 20th time in NBA Finals history, the championship will be decided by Game 7. The last time this happened was in 2016, when LeBron James and the Cavaliers pulled off a stunning 3-1 series comeback to upset the Warriors.
The Indiana Pacers kept their championship hopes alive with a convincing 108-91 win against the Thunder on Thursday evening. Oklahoma City looked sloppy and never really found their rhythm when it mattered most.
ESPN analyst and three-time NBA champion Udonis Haslem didn’t hold back Friday morning, pointing to the Thunder’s lack of “maturity” as the reason they couldn’t close out the series.
“None of those guys have ever been there before,” Haslem said bluntly on ESPN’s Get Up.
He’s not wrong.
The Thunder entered this season as the NBA’s youngest team with an average age of just 24.1 years. Critics constantly questioned whether these kids had enough experience to make a deep playoff run.
Those doubts seemed silly after OKC racked up 68 regular-season wins and steamrolled through the Western Conference. Now they’re just one win away from a championship.
But Game 6 exposed their youth.
Alex Caruso is literally the only player on their roster with championship experience. When the pressure mounted in Indiana’s hostile environment, that inexperience showed.
“The power of the brotherhood has brought this team together,” Haslem said about the Pacers, clearly impressed by their resilience.
The Thunder have shown incredible growth throughout the playoffs, but Thursday night was different. For perhaps the first time this postseason, we saw their lack of maturity on full display when it really counted.
Now everything comes down to Sunday night.
The series shifts back to Oklahoma City for the decisive Game 7, with all the pressure squarely on the young Thunder shoulders. They entered the Finals as heavy favorites but now find themselves in a winner-take-all situation.
The Pacers have already proven they can win in OKC, stealing a close game earlier in the series.
Which team will emerge with the trophy after what has been an absolutely thrilling Finals? We’ll find out Sunday in the NBA’s first Game 7 since LeBron’s legendary performance nine years ago.
