Stephen A.’s KEYS to the Pacers taking Game 5 of the NBA Finals 🔑 ‘Make your shots!’ 🗣️ | First Take

Stephen A.’s KEYS to the Pacers taking Game 5 of the NBA Finals 🔑 ‘Make your shots!’ 🗣️ | First Take

the NBA finals all knotted up at two as the series shifts back to Oklahoma City where Stephen A and Windy are for a pivotal game five the MVP Shay Gildas Alexander delivered when it matters most scoring 15 of his 35 in the fourth quarter Friday as OKZ took game four in Indie how will the Pacers respond tyresese Hallebertton yeah he’s at the mic i feel great uh you know that’s the best part about playoff series is um you know when you get the chance to respond I think that’s the great thing about sports you know it’s uh you’re going to have good games you’re going to have bad games but there’s nothing like the game to respond you know so I look forward to doing that with this group and um you know coming out and competing and um you know we got to be ready for a really big challenge that lies ahead with this with this team and in this environment so I’m really looking forward to doing that with my teammates and uh seeing you know how we respond all right game five tonight on ABC we’ll work on getting Wendy and Stephen A meanwhile Jay I’m coming to you how do the Pacers win this tonight in Oklahoma City i I I think it’s a variety of things um number one SGA had 35 points i I wonder how the game is going to be officiated let’s just be honest about that okay like are we calling pushoffs are we not calling pushoffs i saw Tyresese Hallebertton do the same thing he got called for an offensive foul i saw SGA down the slate make two avertent pushoffs that weren’t being called so I’m not going to put it on Scott Foster i think he is an incredible ref i think their referee crew is a good referee crew i just want consistency first and foremost with how we’re calling the NBA Finals secondly for Indiana SCA 35 points zero assist how do you make him more dimensional what do I mean by that when he just focuses on scoring he is prolific i said before I think he’s like an AI meets Kobe ai with the way he can slither through and get to those certain gaps in the court which is unique by the way but also Kobe when he gets the ball on different operational zones on the court talk about the nail if you talk about the elbow for basketball minds there or pinch post or the extended wing he’s able to have that footwork right where he can get in those sweet spots but if you can throw more double teams at him throw more different coverages at him make him an assist guy before he’s a score first guy is a really big thing because you you want him to make other players have to beat you instead of him down the stretch and also you got to keep them off the boards and then the last thing it comes down to I think Molly really is Tyrese Halleurn we always talk about superstar star him being the guy all that’s fine you want him to remain aggressive once again I think their record is like 33 and four when he scores 20 points or more talking to Drew Hanlin who is his you know infamous trainer who trains with him and he says they have conversations about this all the time about him being aggressive with how he starts the game but you can’t lose sight of who you are and I think down the stretch I don’t need to see a ton of Tyrese Hallebertton iso ball or just ball screens right if OKC is switching everything down the stretch give the ball to Pascal Seakkum rick Carile needs to make some plays where he’s catching the ball on the low post or at the pinch post where he’s able to turn and face and make some plays happen i don’t know why they go away from that and they just get lost in continuity or iso ball pascal Seakum needs to be the guy if it gets close and you need a bucket all right I want to officially welcome in Stephen A and Wendy good morning guys uh Stephen A where are you on that how do the Pacers win it tonight well how about making shots let’s start with that they shot 28% uh from the field in the fourth quarter okay let’s get that out the way 0 for eight from three-point range that’s not going to get it done against Oklahoma City Thunder oklahoma City went outscored them 12-1 in the final 258 of regulation one of the things that we found ourselves incredibly impressed with when it came to the Indiana Pacers was their ability to score the ball even though they’ve shown flashes of being able to defend and Dagnald and those guys have helped them because they’ve engaged in too much ISO ball with Shay Gilis Alexander over the first three games of this series the fact remains that what really really is the thing that the Indiana Pacers hold his hats on is its ability to score we saw even with Tyrese Hallebertton struggling Pascal Siaka making noise N Smith making noise Nemhard making noise Matine coming off the bench dropping 27 uh in a in a game three and doing what he’s capable of doing t.j mcconnell being that little engine that could being the spark plug for them we’ve seen them do a myriad of things and have been very very impressed with what we’ve seen from the Indiana Pacers and then the fourth quarter showed up the other night you’ve got an opportunity to put OKC in an insurmountable 3 to1 hole and all of a sudden over the last 2 minutes and 58 seconds she can’t score a damn basket that’s not something that we anticipate or expect from the Indiana Pacers particularly when you see even a guy like Obie topping coming off the bench and able to make a contribution so I’m going to say that’s one of the key things right there number two get the ball out of Shay Gilis Alexander’s hands yes he is the reigning league MVP yes he is a superstar caliber player in this game and he definitely showed it in game four but trap him double him do something to make somebody else beat you get the ball out of his hands and dear somebody else for OKC to get it done whether it’s Caruso or Jaylen Williams guys that are capable of getting it done but who knows what level of consistency they’ll be working with in that regard try them out make sure it’s somebody other than SGA that can beat you i think if you’re the Indiana Pacers those two ingredients are formulas to victory as far as far as I’m concerned surprised that I it’s this clear because it it’s a strange number it’s 111 11 points is the defining number of this whole Pacers playoff run they’ve played 20 playoff games when they have scored 111 or more they’re 14-0 when they’ve scored 110 or less they’re 0 and6 and by the way in game four the uh Thunder scored 111 points had they got to 111 it would at least gone to overtime so why is that number uh you know why do we have it 20 games that’s that’s quarter of a season like that’s defining okay that number seems to indicate the magic what they have to have in terms of number of possessions number of offensive rebounds winning the turnover game getting fast break points that is where it is so if you’re watching the game and you’re in the first quarter and the Pacers are on pace for 111 it’s like a little dipstick a little thermometer how we doing are we on pace for 111 yes green light we on pace for 110 red light and it’s just sort of a conglomeration of a lot of things that are going on both coaches are very very deep into their adjustment bags we’ve got adjustments on top of adjustments on top of adjustments what’s happened the last couple of games is an attempt to win the fatigue game the Pacers won the fatigue game in game three it’s one of their most important strategy points tire out the opposition by running guys and wearing out Shay Gildas Alexander with fullcourt pressure and attacking him on defense in game four the curveball that the Thunder tossed back guys taking Shay off the ball he had no assists in that game it was a fascinating statistic normally you see a point guard with no assist you say “What a bad game a ball hog game.” No that was the product of their strategy working jaylen Williams was the point guard for three quarters and that made Shay have the energy to have that 15-point fourth quarter fascinating back and forth between these teams before Jake Thompson as well let’s talk about Matherine for a quick second because he was a spark plug off the bench people keep forgetting this is a guy that started 49 of the 72 games he played this year and he was the third leading scorer on the Indiana Pacers so this brother is not a bench player he’s somebody that’s been in the starting lineup for a vast majority of the season not to mention the fact that he can score at will what happened to him in the fourth quarter two fouls one turnover no blocks no field goals that’s what happens when you’re talking about him i’m sorry not him that was Miles Turner but when you look at Matine key moments missed three or four free throws three or four free throws okay two two fouls on inbounds plays i mean he was it it was as good as he is it was a disastrous fourth quarter for him and Miles Turner that was the number that I brought up in terms of what he was lacking in his level of production why was that Jay because he looked scared to shoot and I like Miles Turner a lot and I think that he I think that he’s been a a person that has been a good cog for the Indiana Pacers for the most part it’s just one game but I was surprised to see his hesitancy he was very very reluctant he almost seemed afraid to make a mistake you can see that from players from time to time in Matan’s case he was aggressive and it was to a fault because obviously he couldn’t compose himself to you can’t miss three or four free throws in a pivotal fourth quarter like that other than NBA sorry to cut you off mather was on the bench for the whole fourth quarter and the the strategy that the Pacers used or I’m sorry the Thunder used they kept getting the switch to get Aaron Nesmith on to Shay and that’s how N Smith fouled out the the call that that that Jay has been you know talking about this morning is the push off that was not called that was Nesmith who was on SG at that time when Nith fouled out okay that meant Matherin had to come in having not played the whole fourth quarter and that’s when Matherin started not you know he was out of rhythm your point though but two off ball fouls on inbounds passes i mean that ain’t got anything to do with you sitting on the bench you know to miss and then miss missing three or four free throws i’m just saying Carl intended to play him i agree i get that but if you’re make if you’re missing shots you’re missing shots jay you know this that comes with it but you can’t down the stretch if you’re a scorer who usually shoots the ball well from the free throw line miss three or four free throws and on top it all commit two off off ball in offball fouls on inbounds plays it’s a five-point turnaround in 44 seconds they lost by seven points who knows how that could have ruined the game jay just to add to what you guys were saying any anybody that talks about this game like you know they they they let it go they gave it away i mean look OKC found ways to win the game down the stretch but also Stephen A to your point about Miles Turner his numbers have not been great at all i mean with the exception of game three I mean if you just look at the three-point you’re talking about a guy that for this season is shooting 39% from the three-point line i mean the numbers speak for itself with that continuity of offense that they have him as a floor spacer is critical literally to those gaps opening up for Tyrese to get to the rim or for Pascal to get to the rim but when he’s not making shots just look at these numbers i mean 0% last game 25% the game before 20% the game before that he’s going to have to make shots from the outside to keep the continuity and the spacing to be at its best for Indiana’s offense not to be stagnant down the stretch it’s a necessity tonight for them to win game five jay let’s flip to the Thunder really quick how did they take it i I would say for the Thunder look I I think they’re It all starts with their defense i mean you look at what they were able to do they won the points and advantage in the paint last night 50 to 36 23 second chance points including eighth in the fourth quarter so them having that size lineup dominating the glass which they have done in games that they have won and also defensively I think look they throw so many people at you having these types of defensive performances and also Wendy you talked about this multiple times getting bench points you got 20 points from Alex Cruso off the bench again last night and then Shay Gildris Alexander just being aggressive when you need him to he’s gonna have to be a guy great players close out games when it’s 2-2 too so this doesn’t slide back to Indiana having the momentum shay Gilis Alexander and JDub have to be special and protect home court same with Chad Homegrren molly I Molly I I really thought that the Thunder were the significantly better team when the series started and I no longer believe that i honestly think that there’s a razor margin between these teams and one of the reason is I say that is because how the Pacers have taken the Thunder out of their game they really really have they’ve caused them a lot of trouble and I’m just going to tell you the three-point shooting the Thunder averaged almost 43-pointers a game in the regular season when they were winning 68 games they were running their stuff 43 a game almost second round series against Denver that was seven game series tough series averaged 37 threes they were still getting to their stuff last round against Minnesota good defensive team 34 threes 27 so far seven they went three of 17 on three in game four everyone’s looking at the three i’m looking at the 17 they only get up 17 that means the Pacers were taking them out of it plus they played a strategy with Jaylen Williams playing point guard for three quarters that they haven’t played all season so they got the Thunder guys playing that way they haven’t played for a hundred games and that to me is an indication that the Thunder are their margin for for error here tonight is very tight well let’s take it a step further first of all you got Jaylen Williams shooting 21% from three-point range you got Chad Homer shooting 9% from three-point range let’s not forget that you’ve got Oklahoma City as a team in a non-restricted area in the paint shooting about 39 39% from the field 38% on on mid-range games they were averaging 17.8 points over the first three rounds of the playoffs on fast break points okay they’re at 8.8 this series 8.8 on fast break points that’s virtually non-existent compared to what they’re accustomed to doing okay and you’re averaging 23.8 points off turnovers per game okay this season they’re at 16 in these finals so if you’re looking at Rick Carlile and the Indiana Pacers you’ve neutralized them on the fast break you’ve neutralized their ability and points off of turnovers you’ve restricted them in terms of their mid-range games points in the paint area all of the things that you want plus you’ve got two of your key players two of your top three scorers shooting 21 and N% respectively from three-point range if you’re the Indiana Pacers and you said coming into these finals if we do that what’s going to happen they’d say we’re gonna win the championship but yet they’re tied 2-2 so that means somehow someway Indiana has gotten in its own way at particular moments of times and I totally agree with you it’s raised there right now the discrepancy that we thought existed between OKC and Indiana is false it is not true this is a close matchup i could see seven games all right let’s put a peg in it well it’s making for a fantastic series okc is favored by nine and a half tonight

On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Jay Williams and Brian Windhorst preview Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

0:00 How do the Pacers win Game 5 tonight?
3:30 Stephen A. says the Pacers have to make their shots tonight
5:40 Brian Windhorst on what the Pacers need to do to win Game 5
10:00 Jay Williams says Myles Turner needs to step up
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