Chuck & GameTime Crew Talk Thunder Game 4 Win vs. Pacers to Tie the Series | 2025 NBA Finals

Chuck & GameTime Crew Talk Thunder Game 4 Win vs. Pacers to Tie the Series | 2025 NBA Finals

the Thunder have tied up the 2025 NBA Finals at two games a piece as we welcome you to Game Time Live at the Finals presented by State Farm with the Hall of Famer Charles Barkley three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker Hall of Famer Gran Hill i’m Jared Greenberg many guests including Shay Gildas Alexander right here live on set we’ll hear from the coaches and players at the podium let’s start with your thoughts here we all kind of agreed before the game the winner of this game four would go on to win the title what did you see that was different down the stretch Charles in the fourth quarter well I thought the the big winner tonight was Caruso i thought he was the difference in the game i know Shay’s going to get a lot of love and he deserves it but we were wondering who were going to join the party candace give her some blocks she said “Matine I don’t think he can play like that again.” And he did not play like that again mcconnell didn’t get all those steals we wondered who was who was up on OKC’s bench gonna step up a lot of love jaylen Williams played well hey Shade did you know we talk about all the time your star is supposed to be your closer not your starter and through the middle of the game that big three he hit and the travel he got away with those were the two biggest players game but I thought the player of the game was Caruso you know going into the fourth it seemed like it was the Pacers ball game right and I feel like in moments like this it comes down to crucial plays there were huge missed free throws down the stretch you talk about back-to-back free throws by Obie Topphen you talk about live ball turnovers at the top of the key with Tyrese Hallebertton so I think momentum shifted in that fourth quarter the ball was in SGA’s hands because he was you know he he didn’t have to bring it up all game so let’s give it to JDub jdub got them there caruso kept them there and SGA took them home and by the way Matherin missed those three consecutive free throws as well well it comes down to end of game situations and you know OKC did everything right particularly on the defensive end there were three or four possessions defensively as they were making their run and gaining momentum where Indiana got nothing and this is a team that’s a high-powered offense a team that has executed well throughout the postseason in close games indiana was rattled they were confused they were out of sorts so the defense of OKC was stellar and of course as you said SGA down the track i thought N Smith fouling out y it really hurt them and uh Matan had to play he missed those free throws they also had two really bad fouls and uh anyway just just poor in the game situation disappointing for Indiana and I worry we talked about who wins game four is going to probably or maybe win this thing how does Indiana emotionally recover well they not from a loss like this where you had the game one and you gave it away and number one they gave it away and I thought you saw the difference between a allstar guys and really good players and a superstar shay bought this thing home they’re like “Yo big fella bring us home.” And I have no idea what the Patriots doing on the offensive end me and Grant were going crazy like “Yo man get the ball to Seakkum he’s your best one-on-one player they didn’t even run a play for him they had other guys trying to make plays i’m like “No no get this ball to see him.” You know OKC like “Hey Shay bring us home.” But it was so frustrating because Grant we can say all we want to about Oklahoma City the Pacers blew this game well you you said it best about Seak he Seakkum was still the leading scoreer and I don’t think it took a shot in the last seven eight minutes of the game he took one shot in the entire fourth quarter he was 0 for one but listen man he was hanging out in the corner a lot of times it drives me crazy when they do that but let me tell you something man this is going to hurt this game going to hurt uh the Pacers cuz they had this game under control they were playing well uh that I OKC was kind of like “Okay we might be in trouble.” And then all of a sudden they let him get close chuck do you know what Big Mo is hey Momentum is a real thing in the playoffs and I’m telling you you lose a game like this in front of your home crowd up 10 going into the fourth quarter but that’s why that’s why that’s why I felt like whoever won this game tonight was going to win the series now they’re going to go home and you know OKC is a very difficult place to play they going to ride that energy uh they got to get some more help though i will give coach credit though he actually played everybody yes and eight guys in the first quarter but I I have no idea why he was showing this rotation hey and let’s talk about the elephant in the room Shaq i mean um no that’s not what I meant uh he’s catching strays he’s off already on vacation he’s not here you know what he’s still big elephant but the lineup changed that was the team even though when they were losing I said “That’s the team I saw all year that I thought would win the title.” They played they started their two big guys he played everybody on the bench give the coach credit for saying I was wrong you know hey it’s so hard for coaches cuz you know they don’t want to admit they’re wrong he was wrong for chasing that starting lineup but now they got the momentum back and it’s going to be tough on the Pacers and they didn’t play well that’s the thing they they hung their hat on their defense in the fourth quarter only giving up 17 points but if you look down the line OKC shot three of 17 from three-point line and it this is point blank wide open catch and shoot threes i mean you look at Wiggins didn’t play well look at Wallace didn’t really knock down the three well so those are the role players that are going home and are going to feel pretty good going home cuz they got away they got away because man it look gloom for those guys it look gloomy when they were down 10 i’m like uhoh well especially you said in this day and era this day and age with the the three-point shooting to only make three point three three-pointers is one thing but then I just thought Sheay was gritty you know he had he shot officially 12 of 24 but it wasn’t an easy uh 12 field goals i mean they harassed him they were physical with him i thought he was tired there late in the third quarter played the whole third quarter and beginning of the fourth but he just found a way down the And that’s what great players that’s what Chuck said superstar players do just find a way on the road to carry your team and hit those two big shots down the stretch including this one right here remember he was held to just 24 points in game three and he committed six turnovers certainly had a bounce back listen Charles not only the elephant in the room being the change in the starting lineup they made a noticeable change in the rotation right from the get-go shake Alexander usually plays Candace the entire first quarter he did not he came out about halfway through and then came back in and then he played to start the second quarter when he’s usually on the bench and Hallebertton was on the bench so they played SGA three less minutes in the first half to kind of save him for later in the game well this is chess not checkers and I have to give it up to coach Dagnel like this is a time where you hang your hat on what you’ve been doing your identity of who you are with minor tweaks y and SGA having only one day off in between the games this is different than the other games as well as playing 42 minutes then you mix it up i think they did a great job of conserving his energy by having JDub bring the ball up and Caruso and Caruso bring the ball up getting him off ball so he wasn’t having to battle that physicality the whole game and then he was able to take you home but listen everyone talks about how calm cool and collected SGA is and sometimes people use that against him i’ll tell you I think that this team the reason why they were able to come out on top in the fourth quarter is because of that mentality they stayed with it they stayed true to who their identity was and they trusted their MVP they’re now six and0 the Thunder after losses this postseason they’ve not lost back-to-back games obviously we’re again going to have some players and and we’ll hear from the coaches at the podium but let’s go through some of the top plays from this game here and show you how this one went down here in Indiana with Indiana leading the series entering this one two games to one pacers get off to a fast start here Grant with Tyrese Hallebert and again being aggressive yeah being aggressive worked well for Tyrese coming out setting the tone early for the Pacers and it paid off miles Turner with the put back it was a five-point lead for Indiana now Jay Dub with the response initiating the offense and scoring chuck he did that all night he did paint how about this feed aaron Wiggins to Lou Dort that’s good defense too that’s just better out there that was their only three until the fourth quarter pascal Siako here that’s a good idea how about going to that guy in the fourth quarter when you got the lead zakam had 20 points caruso forced with the turnover and Caruso answers Charles call of who is going to step up off the bench he had 20 points sga don’t take great greatness for granted sga had 12 first half points and no free throws in the first half of the game and then Chuck they were feeding Seakum that whole first half he got going and they got they got away from it and just like especially when you need a if if the way they offense is if I ever need a basket I’m running a play for Seakum every time pacers led it 60- 57 at the half after that bucket there by Hallebertton he had eight points five assists over the first two quarters let’s go to the third quarter more of Seakum straightaway three connects then it’s Hallebertton to Nemhard and the quarter three then this next stretch I thought was really important guys obie Topphen took over here he did he had two back-to- back threes and you think like man you got to feel pretty good yep then he had then he had a block after the three on Jayd Dub tremendous couple of moments for Toppinh and then Toppin responds with this after that block on the offensive end they reward him grant and right now you just start to worry OKC but Indiana’s getting that momentum it didn’t look good at this juncture remember up by 10 Indiana was and they’re 9 and one entering this game in the clutch there was two big offensive rebounds shotgun that were huge and by the way for the first time this series we saw the double big lineup in the fourth quarter for the Thunder and that contributed to the 23 second chance points that the Thunder were able to do and they dominated the paint so you mean they actually played the two big guys before Red Iback tried to change it up look at that right there offensive glass more second chance points as Candace talked about here from SGA ties the game at 97 so they’ve erased the double digit deficit but this is when their offense got all stagnant i mean that was the only easy layup they got but they were so stagnant down the stretch but this three right here that that was huge sga from downtown yeah and this like I say he lucky got away with a travel sga 35 points five 30-point games in his last six postseason contest oh man that might have been an offensive foul too 104 103 they call that a travel Chuck that’s not a travel they don’t call that That’s a gather are you serious cather that’s a gather well he gathered his luggage and traveled so we’ve got a lot to talk about with Shay Gilders Alexander as he scored OKC’s 15 of their final 16 points sga went eight for eight in the fourth quarter um we always talk about superstars in these moments obviously it would have put the Thunder on the brink of elimination had they lost this game tonight so Charles what did you see from the regular season MVP tonight the reason he won MVP like he closed tonight and whether he’s tired or he had a bad game last game he made all the plays down the stretch and that’s what guys are supposed to do because that three was huge and then obviously he made the other basket after that but man the guy won MVP he deserved it but he was fabulous down the stretch like I say I’m gonna give some flowers to Jaylen Williams was fantastic but to me the difference in the game was Caruso he kept him in the game with his defense and his energy that to me was the difference well I I I think you’re right with SGA not only did he close well I thought he started the game well he wasn’t hunting his shot you know I think at the end of the first quarter might have had four points others were getting involved jaylen Williams as well so being able to sort of sort of read the game and save your best for the you know for the fourth quarter when your team needed it the most and you’re right Alice I mean Alice Caruso you look at the numbers he scored 20 points but his energy deflection steals just the the the confidence and the toughness that he brings to the table you know it it it spread and uh his impact was huge and and and you know he was great you know I think in these situations the margin for error is very small you need those little plays and I understand we’re going to talk about SGA bring them home but let’s give some love to Chad Homegrren i mean you look at him a dominant 14 points 15 rebounds four offensive rebounds and it was they were momentum killers so his offensive rebound the ball was off the glass he went up got it so like I said 23 second chance points the Thunder doing a good job of dominating the paint they didn’t knock down the three tonight but they had 50 paint points to the Pacers 36 and Candace I’m glad you brought up Homegrren because not only did he do a great job on the offensive glass and make some big plays I thought that last three or four minutes when they switched and now he’s guarding smaller players his perimeter defense which I thought he struggled with with most of the game and maybe his ankle i know he sprained it and rolled it a couple times but his defense on those possessions one-on-one with the smaller guards not fouling not not allowing them to turn the corner i thought that was an underrated point on his part that really sealed the deal and he did it with a sprained ankle remember he turned his ankle too those last few moments he came back and played well and let’s So let’s go ahead and get I shouldn’t say sprained he turned his ankle up let’s get a coaches his credit too like you know what guys i screwed up i was wrong and that comes back to your point about points in the paint offensive rebounds because they were playing that small lineup cadet is playing against a bigger guy and he’s maybe not getting there and so those offensive rebounds but that give the coach a lot of credit man it’s hard to admit you’re wrong and when he changed we talked about it last the last last time we were on the air do you I think you say you think they’re going to change your lineup i says “Well they should but I don’t know if they’re going to because coaches never want to admit they’re wrong i’m going to get a coach’s flowers you know what guys i was wrong let’s go back to the team we were and also to pick it back on something Grant said uh last time we were here got to play them dudes man you got to play them dudes your advantage and what was the final on the bench points uh it was 36 to 27 indiana still won the bench point a lot closer a lot closer and it and they didn’t what the the most interesting thing what Kansas is Candace said I don’t even think they played well yet right well they they didn’t shoot the ball well at all they they what I’m saying I this is this was the first time I saw the real OKC Thunder when they playing 10 guys 11 guys they playing athletic guys everywhere they’re they’re they’re big big i mean cuz man if you think about it when they put them two big dudes out there with Jaylen Williams and Shay that’s a big team they should dominate on rebounding in the paint but good job by coach for admit he was wrong

NBA TV GameTime crew Charles Barkley, Grant Hill, Candace Parker, and Jared Greenberg react to the Oklahoma City Thunder defeating the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 35-point performance.

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