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OKLAHOMA CITY — Win or lose, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander relishes “the moment” that every star experiences when their team's backs are against the wall down the stretch and it's time to perform. It's what happened when Gilgeous-Alexander closed out Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals — after scoring 15 points in the final 4:38, outscoring the Pacers by eight points in a 111-104 win.
“That's what it's all about,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 4. “Winning, especially this time of the season, it comes down to the moments. It's going to come down to late-game.”
Gilgeous-Alexander could soon find himself in the same predicament amidst the most important game of his career — Game 7. No player from either team has ever played in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. And while Shai's signature performance led to the Thunder pushing the Pacers to the brink, Tyrese Haliburton and his team responded with their most dominant performance of the best-of-7 series to keep their season alive. But can they do it again on the road?
Especially against a feisty Thunder team that's 6-0 after losses in the postseason, the Pacers will have to put together the kind of effort that saved their lives in Thursday's 108-91 win in Game 6. And it could all come down to Haliburton.
Will Game 7 come down to Tyrese Haliburton beating Thunder?
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton's game-winning shot in Game 1 of his NBA Finals debut erased a 15-point deficit in the series opener. The Thunder's monumental fourth-quarter collapse reminded everyone of how dangerous Haliburton and the Pacers can be down the stretch. That angst among Thunder fans, with flashbacks of Game 1, will linger in the fourth quarter of Game 7. Watching Indiana secure an improbable win to clinch an NBA title feels like a fitting ending to the 2024-25 NBA campaign — the season of the unexpected.
LATE-GAME HALIBURTON DOES IT AGAIN… Thunder fans STUNNED at the Paycom Center. Wow. Pacers take a 111-110 lead with 0.3 seconds left on the clock pic.twitter.com/Zygjp0w5uA
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) June 6, 2025
If there's one team that could beat the odds of an NBA Finals Game 7 on the road against MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, it's the Pacers. No one predicted them to be here in the first place. And if there's one player who can seal the victory in the final seconds of regulation, it's Haliburton. On a strained right calf or not, Haliburton won't shy away from the big moment.
Just ask the Milwaukee Bucks, who he sent home packing after a game-winning shot in Game 5 of the second round, or the New York Knicks, who coughed up a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter before Haliburton's jumper sent the game into overtime and yielded a 138-135 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden.
And with the Pacers' supporting cast of Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard, players who impact both ends of the floor, shooting in Aaron Nesmith, and bench support from T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin, bridging the gap to Haliburton's closing performance is plausible for Game 7. This is the biggest stage, with the franchise's first NBA championship on the line.
Tyrese Haliburton could etch his name into NBA Finals lore by draining the most important shot in Pacers history.
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“I've dreamed of being in this situation my whole life,” Haliburton said. “So, to be here is really exciting. Really exciting for me and my our group. It's already written. We've worked our tails off to get here. Just have to trust the work that we put in. I wouldn't wanna go to battle with any other guys. I'm really excited about it.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Game 7 moment in Thunder history
After capturing the most improbable win in Thunder postseason history in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's somber presence reeked of a player staring down a long road. Despite being two wins away, with the series tied, 2-2, at the time, it was almost as if he knew he'd need to put on another game-stealing performance to become an NBA champion.
Gilgeous-Alexander thought about how basketball at its elite level often comes down to the star rising to the occasion in those special moments. The ones that fans talk about for years, much like Kyrie Irving's shot over Stephen Curry in the finals' last Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavs, and dozens of others over the past 40 years. SGA could be on the verge of writing the Thunder's first chapter in NBA Finals history.
“It's rarely going to be a blowout, and it comes down to the moments and who's willing to make winning plays on both ends of the floor,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But I relish those moments. Love the moments. Good or bad. When I was a kid shooting in my driveway, I'd count down the clock for those moments. Now, I get to live it.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when asked if he could “sense the moment” of when to take over Game 4:
“Absolutely. That’s what it’s all about. Winning, especially this time of the season, comes down to those moments. It’s going to come down to late-game” pic.twitter.com/YhMJuAV9me
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) June 14, 2025
Whether it's Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder or Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy after Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, a shining moment will alter one franchise's history on Sunday.
