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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso knows what it takes to win the NBA Finals, and he was crystal clear about what this entails following his team’s 120-109 Game 5 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
“You’ve got to get to four,” Caruso said after the Thunder took a 3-2 series lead on Monday night. “You don’t get to be champions until you get the fourth win.”
Known for his defensive prowess and veteran status, Caruso won his first championship as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and has been a major piece of the Thunder’s run through the Western Conference.
Such a sentiment rings true for this Thunder team considering their second-round series against the Denver Nuggets went seven games despite the Thunder taking a 3-2 lead after a hard-fought Game 5 win.
Alex Caruso provides Thunder veteran presence
Through 21 postseason contests this spring, Caruso has averaged 9.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.0 steals while shooting roughly 46 percent from the field and around 42 percent from distance. He also provided the sort of respected locker room presence that has benefited a young team.
“He’s one of those guys who you know is going to bring it every single night. Whether he’s 22 or 30, doesn’t matter. He’s going to bring it,” said teammate Chet Holmgren. “I feel like, as a collective, we really feed off of that. Then also his ability to kind of process things that are happening out there and relay it and communicate it to everybody else is really important for us.”
Caruso was only 1 of 8 from the field in Game 5, but his four steals helped the Thunder ward off a late Pacers surge. The 31-year-old also provided 20 points in a critical Game 2 win on the strength of a 6 of 11 night from the field.
Jalen Williams’ 40-point outburst placed the Thunder on the doorstep of their first title in franchise history, but Caruso is not about to let his team get complacent against a Pacers group that has shown resilience throughout the postseason.
