The Indiana Pacers proved themselves to be a historic defensive team with a brilliant stretch in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
The Indiana Pacers put on one of the most dominant displays in NBA Finals history in Game 6. Coming into a do-or-die game, the Pacers obliterated the Oklahoma City Thunder to send the series to Game 7.
Pascal Siakam was the Pacers’ hero, as he scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help lead his team to victory.
But the offensive exploits were just a small part of the Pacers’ winning strategy. Their stifling defense shut the Thunder down like never before.
Jalen Williams ended the game with -40, the worst plus/minus in NBA Finals history since the play-by-play era.
The Pacers’ defense was incredible. And one stretch of dominance against the Thunder allowed the team to make NBA Finals history.
During Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers truly locked in on defense toward the end of the first half.
Around the 1:37 mark in the second quarter, the Pacers clamped down on the Thunder, not allowing them to score as the half ended.
The Thunder struggled to get going, not breaking their scoring drought until the 6:57 mark in the third quarter.
This means that the Pacers kept the Thunder from scoring for 6 minutes and 49 seconds of in-game time.
This meant the Thunder set the record for the longest drought in an NBA Finals game in history.
The San Antonio Spurs set the previous record in Game 4 of the 2007 NBA Finals. They kept the Cleveland Cavaliers scoreless for 6 minutes and 23 seconds.
Heading into Game 7, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a lot of reasons to be confident. For starters, they haven’t lost consecutive games in the NBA playoffs so far.
Secondly, playing at home in front of a raucous Thunder crowd will be a huge boost. But they can’t take anything for granted.
| Oklahoma City Thunder loss | Next game result |
| Game 1 vs. Denver Nuggets: 121-119 Loss | Game 2 vs. Denver Nuggets: 149-106 Win |
| Game 3 vs. Denver Nuggets: 113-104 Loss | Game 4 vs. Denver Nuggets: 92-87 Win |
| Game 6 vs. Denver Nuggets: 112-105 Loss | Game 7 vs. Denver Nuggets: 125-93 Win |
| Game 3 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: 143-101 Loss | Game 4 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: 128-126 Win |
| Game 1 vs. Indiana Pacers: 111-110 Loss | Game 2 vs. Indiana Pacers: 123-107 Win |
| Game 3 vs. Indiana Pacers: 116-107 Loss | Game 4 vs. Indiana Pacers: 111-104 Win |
This loss should remind the Thunder why the Pacers are such a dangerous team. They have pushed the Thunder on both ends of the court like no other side.
If the Thunder want to close out this series, they will need to put up their best performance in these playoffs.
The Pacers have no quit and will fight them till the final buzzer. It is up to the Thunder to shut them out and rubber stamp their excellent season with a championship win.
