The Thunder Claw Back From The Dead To Keep Their Title Hopes Alive By Stunning The Pacers And Stealing Game 4

Jesse D. Garrabrant. Getty Images.

If there's one thing we know about the journey of winning an NBA title, it's that it's hard as hell. Nearly impossible, frankly. You need so much to go your way over the course of 8+ months, and the closer you get to achieving it, the harder things get. We have examples of this all throughout NBA history, and if you're interested in a more recent example, look no further than Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

The Pacers entered this game with all the momentum in the world coming off their Game 3 win. Game 4 presented itself as their first killshot opportunity of the Finals, something that every eventual champion needs to capitalize on. When you have an opportunity to bury your opponent with the title on the line, you have to do it. Teams that do, ultimately reach the top of the mountain. Those who choke that opportunity away? It almost always comes back to haunt you. Game 3 in 2024, Game 4 in 2023, Game 4 in 2022, you can go right down the list of each champion. When they had their opportunity to kill, they killed.

Tonight, the Pacers were great for 3 quarters. Up by as much as 10 in the 3rd, they entered the 4th quarter with a 7 point lead and a big time 3-1 lead just 12 mintues away. This was their chance to effectively kill the Thunder.

Unfortunately, they went the same route as the 2022 Celtics. Choked away a pivotal Game 4 in the 4th quarter by simply not being able to score. The Pacers lost the 4th by a brutal 31-17 score, and when I say it was ugly, that might not even do it justice

The surprising part is the Pacers have been so good in the 4th quarter in these Finals, it's a huge reason why they had a 2-1 series lead. But when it came time to execute and step on throats with the title pretty much on the line, they instead gave OKC life. That's the story of this game for me. Part of it was the Pacers sort of caving to the moment, especially late with all the missed FTs and bad fouls. 

But the other part was the resiliency of the Thunder. That's the other side of the coin that now has an entirely new look on life following this win. Now heading home tied 2-2? Great spot. Momentum taken back, homecourt advantage back in their favor, you could make the case that the Thunder's 4th quarter of Game 4 could be what ultimately ends up deciding how the Finals shake out. That's the significance of these type of swing games in the Finals. You can NEVER assume things are over until the clock hits 0.0, and if you fail to execute in high leverage situations down the stretch, you won't survive. You have to be perfect, you have to go for the kill through executing on both ends of the floor at a high level.

That type of execution, is what we saw on the OKC side

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Did SGA push off? Probably yeah, but it happened right in front of Scott Foster, so what exactly did you expect to happen there? Foster calling a foul? Don't be an idiot.

SGA finished with 15 points on 3-6 shooting in the 4th, and given the fact that he was having a pretty subpar showing in the first 3 quarters, that's the type of backpacking that you need to have as the MVP with your season on the line. The situation called for him to rise to the occasion, and he found a way to execute and get the job done. You may not have to like how he did it, but he did it. On the road. That's about as big time as big time gets.

Add in a much better showing from the "others", something that also shouldn't be overlooked with their season on the line, just massive performances from guys like Caruso & JDub

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Honestly, even though it won't happen,I feel like Caruso should get some Finals MVP votes if the Thunder pull this series out. He's been such a monster even if he is allowed to foul the shit out of whoever he's defending while on the perimeter. 

This was one of those weird games where while you're watching it you felt like the Thunder should have been down by around 20, but through some selective whistles and points off turnovers, they were able to hang around and not let things get out of hand, similar to what the Pacers did in Game 3. They stayed attached for long enough that they were able to capitalize once the Pacers started to shit their pants in the 4th quarter. They opened the window, and the Thunder burst right through. That's a championship-level response that changed the entire vibe of the Finals. Now, they're in the driver's seat with 2 of the final 3 games in their own building.

I've always felt that in a playoff series, whoever ends up being the first team to win 2 in a row wins the series. For these Finals, I'd say the same thing. Whoever wins 2 in a row first is going to win the Larry. If that's OKC in Game 5 to go up 3-2, so be it. If that's IND who wins Game 5 & 6, so be it. That's what made tonight so massive for the Pacers and such a good reminder of just how hard this climb up the mountain is. You get to 14 wins, and you think you're right there. Then you get 1 quarter away from being at 15, and now your advantage is toast. In the Finals, life comes at you quick, and the swings are enormous.

Outside of a bit of a blowout in Game 2, these Finals have been tremendous. If you're someone who was rooting for a long series, well we just checked off a pretty important box in an effort to make that a reality. Now all the pressure swings to the Pacers, so let's see if they're ready to respond. If they don't, things are about to get pretty dicey fairly quickly.