INDIANAPOLIS — Difficult as it may seem, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is desperately trying to not think about what may await his team.
This year’s regular-season scoring champion and league MVP doesn’t want to ponder the end of the NBA Finals. Or how the Larry O’Brien Trophy will feel in his hands if he gets to finally hoist it as a champion. Or what the celebration will look like, sound like, be like.
The Thunder are one win from the franchise’s first title in its current era that dates to 2008, when the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City, and the crown could come when they visit the potentially shorthanded Indiana Pacers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.
It is not just another game, though Gilgeous-Alexander is trying to make it seem that way.
“The cusp of winning is not winning,” said the 26-year-old from Toronto and former prep standout for Chattanooga’s Hamilton Heights Christian Academy. “The way I see it, winning is all that matters. It hasn’t been fulfilled. We haven’t done anything.”
Technically, that’s true. In actuality, that’s also slightly ridiculous.
The Thunder lead the best-of-seven NBA Finals 3-2, have posted 83 wins so far this season (playoffs included) and just found a way to hand Indiana its first set of back-to-back losses in three months. The Thunder, just as they did against the Denver Nuggets in the second round, have bounced back from playoff series deficits of 1-0 and 2-1, pushing them closer to a title than Oklahoma City has ever been. (The SuperSonics won the franchise’s lone NBA title in 1979.)
“We want to win the game tomorrow, but the most important thing we need to do to win the game tomorrow is prepare today and prepare tomorrow and play the first possession really well, then the next possession, then the next possession,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Wednesday. “That’s how we try to approach a game, how we try to approach the playoff series, how we try to approach every single day, and let that win the day.”
The Pacers, trying to bounce back from Monday night’s 120-109 road loss, expect a crazed atmosphere at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for what will be their final home game of the season; if they force Game 7, it will be in Oklahoma City on Sunday.
What the Pacers don’t know is if Tyrese Haliburton will be able to play. The two-time NBA All-Star point guard is dealing with a strained right calf, and his status won’t be definitively known until Thursday.
“I have a lot of trust in our medical staff. I have a lot of trust in our organization to make the right decision,” Haliburton said. “I think there’s been many situations through the course of my career where they’ve trusted me on my body. … I want to be out there. That’s the plan.”
Indiana forward Pascal Siakam said all the Pacers can do is “think about the next game. It’s a great opportunity in front of our fans. I’m sure it’s going to be a huge moment for our fans. They’re going to be super excited. We have a chance at home, NBA Finals. It’s a good opportunity. That’s all it is.”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has been stressing two key points: committing fewer turnovers (Indiana’s 23 led to 32 Oklahoma City points in Game 5) and limiting the Thunder’s offensive rebounding. Those areas must be cleaned up whether Haliburton plays or not.
The Pacers trailed the New York Knicks 3-2 in a second-round series last season, came home and won Game 6, then went to Madison Square Garden and won Game 7. Winning from this position is possible, and Carlisle obviously knows it.
“What we need to do is buckle down. Stand strong. I anticipate one of the best crowds in the history of Gainbridge Fieldhouse,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to find a way. The ultimate is to get to a Game 7. That is the ultimate privilege. It’s the ultimate experience in sports. But we’ve got to take care of home court tomorrow to do that.”
Since 2000, teams are 25-13 in games where they can win the NBA title. The Thunder are aiming to go 1-0 in such games this year, something 20 teams have done in the past 25 seasons. The Boston Celtics needed two tries at it last season before ousting the Dallas Mavericks to win the franchise’s record-breaking 18th NBA title.
If the Thunder win Game 6 (or Game 7) it would push their total number of wins for the season to 84, and that would be rare air as only three teams have won 84 or more games in a season. The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors won 88 — and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals — while the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls won 87 games, and the same franchise won 84 games the following season.
When it comes to trying to stay focused, Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t alone.
Even fellow guard Jalen Williams, who had 40 points for Oklahoma City in Game 5, didn’t get a ton of calls and texts after the highest-scoring postseason performance of his career. His friends know he’s not on the phone much right now.
“Honestly, I try not to answer my phone as much, even though that probably sounded like I’m a jerk,” Williams said. “There’s just a lot of highs and lows throughout the series. You don’t get as many texts if you don’t play well. I try to keep that in perspective, too.”