‘We had ONE GOAL in mind tonight’ – SGA reacts to OKC’s dominant Game 2 win vs. Pacers | SC with SVP

‘We had ONE GOAL in mind tonight’ – SGA reacts to OKC’s dominant Game 2 win vs. Pacers | SC with SVP

i don’t believe that we can manufacture desperation in life Has to be genuine Absolutely Is it fair to say given the opponent and what happened late in game one that this was a desperate situation a game you could not afford to lose Absolutely Um it’s clear as day Like same thing happened in the Denver series It’s hard to win a series losing both at home It’s just hard Um you set yourself back so much and we knew that going into the game The um the trick is trying to manufacture that that desperation when it’s not organic Uh that’s well said Yeah Um but yeah we we had one goal in mind tonight and that was to get a W and we did So the the desperation that you spoke of that was evident but because you had gone through it with Denver I wonder how much you were able just to remember all right damn near the same thing happened in that series and we were able to come out on the other end of it How do you make 48 hours productive It’s kind of a long wait What What does go into those moments of looking at film and being prepared for tonight and coming out with the aggression that we saw Yeah I think the fire and the energy comes naturally Um now you just have to do a really good job of of trying to stay in the moment and and just figure out how to get better for the next game How about this building’s ability We just heard Rick Carl mention that they I mean this place is as advertised This is the first time I’ve been here He said he felt they took it to another level Fair Yeah absolutely They they do an amazing job and every time it feels like it’s the loudest it’s ever been they just keep going louder every game Um but yeah we we besides the energy that comes so so naturally in this building especially in a desperate game you just try to find a way to get better and and that’s that’s the main goal Like as long as you you keep getting better through your experiences you give yourself a chance Shay you’ve spent so much time throughout this postseason playing not just from ahead but comfortably ahead But given the team you’re playing and the capacity to come back that they’ve demonstrated over and over again is there any point in this second half where the number is high enough that you feel like all right we’re probably okay tonight Um no Probably when it was like 15 with a minute left Um this late in the season like you don’t want to take anything for granted Um now obviously they have the track record of doing some miraculous things late game and um we learned that firsthand last game So so those those moments we kind of don’t we we don’t even give ourselves a chance to think that with the goal in mind and the team that we’re playing against They’re a really good basketball team You don’t make it this far without being a really good basketball team and we know that Um and we learned that the hard way game one Jets a very very talented young man and he is still a young man who missed a significant amount of time this season with an injury What’s what’s the message that you all put in his ear over the last couple of days to take game one put it in the rearview and be the guy we saw tonight because from the jump he was different The special thing about Chad is nobody said anything to him Is that right Yeah He’s he’s such a competitor and he gets lost in the competition and I think he’s the best version of himself now He’s going to go out there and make mistakes just like the rest of us But his intentions his intangibles his skill set and the things you just can’t teach that he does on a basketball court will they’ll take over Um as long as he continues to have that right mindset which he does 99.999% of the time Um and yeah like you don’t have to worry about Chad He’s he’s going to be that guy Interesting Through the years doing this I always look at the guys looking at this and I’m like what are they looking at Right now what I’m looking at is I’m looking at Wiggins and I’m looking at Caruso 38 off the bench The ability for them to contribute that significantly tonight How important were were their contributions to the overall victory Yeah very they always are Um we are the team we are because of our depth and because of the punches that we can throw through 10 11 men Like that’s what makes us special That’s what makes us this historic defense this historic season that we’ve had so far Um we have guys that understand the goal in mind on both ends of the floor and um we can sit down take breaks and and it doesn’t drop off and they did a great job tonight I’m interested in your perspective The same thing I asked Tyrese the other night This is two games in now It’s the finals Anything feel different about what it is to you as you play I mean the numbers look like they always look but I’m just interested in what you’re processing You’re a human being and these are the finals Absolutely the the losses hurt a little bit more for sure Um but I’ve tried to just tell myself like like as as much as you can just enjoy the process and enjoy the moment Are you absolutely it’s it’s been amazing It’s been everything I dreamed it to be It’s been I like it’s hard to even put into words and wrap my head around It’s been so fun and it’s the best stage of basketball ever of all time Um and we get the opportunity to to play in that And that’s how I try to like view it I try to view it as so many people die for this opportunity and I have my whole entire life and now I’m finally here So just as much as I can enjoy it but um keep that competitive fire I asked Aaron about it when he sat down with me We’re going to bring that interview to folks a little bit uh later in the show and he said “Yeah I felt it when I took that heat check and he missed the rim.” You know he said he was ready to light this place on fire But I think we have to remind ourselves that those of us that are lucky enough to cover this and this is our job It’s your job too which you’ve lived your whole lives waiting to be out there and and to process it in real time and still compete I guess that’s the balancing act Yeah Yeah Absolutely Um it’s a crazy moment So many emotions behind it and they’re natural You can’t get rid of them no matter what Why would you want to Exactly Um but once you get out there it’s like you you feel it in in the air It’s just basketball and it’s just you and your your crew competing against another crew Um and the crews are very good at this stage It’s different than in the park Sure It is a little high level The crews are very good but it’s at the end of the day it’s competition and you try to go out there and win What do you imagine it feels like Wednesday when you get to another building where they’re cheering for the other squad Yeah very very very fun A lot of booze Um I’m sure they’ll be pretty fast in their building Pretty comfortable So um yeah we’re going to have to be really good if we want to go down there and win I was feeling real comfortable in here I’m like “Wow I’ve never been here before man.” They’re chanting SVP S I was like “Oh wait No that’s MVP That’s MVP It’s your house man Thank you for having us Congratulations on a great night We’ll see you on Wednesday in Indianapolis Thank you very much

Shai Gilgeous Alexander joins SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt to react to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 123-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers to even the series in the NBA Finals.

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