NBA Finals Game 6 FULL REACTION 🍿 Pacers DOMINATE the Thunder to force a Game 7 in OKC | SC with SVP

NBA Finals Game 6 FULL REACTION 🍿 Pacers DOMINATE the Thunder to force a Game 7 in OKC | SC with SVP

let’s revisit really where this game was won and largely it was in that second 12 minutes after the Pacers missed their first eight shots to start this game they found their footing yes they had Hallebertton and they had McConnell minutes he’s impacting the game in every meaningful way the rip hallebertton pulls from three give me all three of these hallebertton and the Pacers rolling beautiful ball movement there’s a big three from Aaron Nesmith who’s been quiet much of this series 12-point lead this is an incredible sequence hallebertton the steel turner hallebertton seakum one more time from three ball never hits the floor it’s like the threeman weave and this building was absolutely out of its mind and they had more to go because so did Hallebertton he hits again from three the lead is 17 it’s an 18-point lead again it’s Hallebertton and this look away to seek is nasty he drops the hammer on Jaylen Williams he turned it over there give him credit he gets back on defense spins around and you sometimes you get got and the look away this is as loud as I’ve heard a building in a long time when Seakum dropped that one that’s Pacer royalty reggie and the home crowd cheering “Take these two more with you to the locker room.” Oh goodness born ready this Pacer team was ready for this night before the game even started tim Leer looked at me and said “There’s no way this team’s going to lose tonight.” You could just sense it before the game began the second half started the Thunder didn’t score for the first five minutes you saw the Turner dunk again ball doesn’t touch the floor get it out to Shephard in transition the lead is growing to 28 now it’s just a matter of what’s this margin going to get to there’s the three from Nemhart the lead’s back to 21 then it’s Pascal Seakum we thought that he would have to be significant in this game he was with 16 but there were others late third off the miss the ball gets knocked out incredible one-hand throw essentially from Memhard into the hands of Sheepard and he pulls from three the lead is 30 starters pulled sit on dry powder 48 minutes to play to decide who will win the 2024 25 NBA title and again worth saying Gainbridge Fieldhouse you all did your job sixth man and then some tonight I’m joined now by Tim Leggler and legs literally we’re sitting up there and there was an energy to this building and you looked at me and I said you beat me to the punch cuz you said they’re not losing tonight what did you sense yeah I sensed it a seriousness about their team and I think what it really took was that emotional lift that Tyresese Hallebertton gave them we were all waiting and wondering what’s he going to look like you start to get news before the game you and I were standing right there he was working out making threes in front of us you still don’t know if that means he’s going to be a threat once the game starts clearly he was early enough of a threat i think that is really what kind of lifted the pressure cooker off this place they knew that he was going to be out there he was going to be a factor he started moving better and better as the first half wore on uh they weathered that first storm and they couldn’t make a shot and then they flipped that game on its head basically middle of the first quarter all the way through the rest of the half their defense was the best they’ve played all series is they finally did something and I said to you they needed to do which was completely sell out to the paint and dare guys to make three-point shots and they didn’t in a game for a title and the most misleading number on this box score eight made threes they made one that mattered well they made one of their first 16 did the Thunder and by the time they made seven late this game was essentially done and you mentioned throughout the defense we see the numbers on here Shay Gildas Alexander eight turnovers that ties a careerhigh they couldn’t buy a three when the game was still hanging in the balance what was it that the Pacers were able to effectively do that that gave the Thunder so much difficulty they basically played thunder defense against them their activity level in raking around the basketball anything that came in the lane was just at a different level tonight for Indiana and and you could sense the aggressiveness once they got a couple of steals then it was all hands on deck in the paint everybody raking if a guy got an offensive rebound he was surrounded by three Pacers and then most importantly they were converting those into open floor opportunities so you don’t have to play against OKC’s half court defense and that’s really what the last 18 minutes of the first half were all about it was Indiana Pacers with three four sometimes here five yellow jerseys in the lane making sure somebody else is going to beat us tonight it’s not going to be Shay it’s not going to be Jaylen Williams who’s up to the task nobody really was in that supporting cast for Oklahoma City obie Topphen is going to join us here in just a moment before he sits down with us here legs I want to get to one of the things that’s written on this card because it can get lost on a night where the lead did grow to 30 and it’s a party in this building and it’s a blowout when it wasn’t a blowout the McConnell minutes how significant were the impacts that he had all over the floor just when you think you’ve seen him at his best in this series he comes in and does it again and you and I are sitting next to each other watching you can’t help but laugh at times because it’s at the point now this is exactly what you expect and it’s as soon as he checks in the game the activity level once again in the back court disrupting outlet passes creating extra possessions and I said something to you also Scott there are a handful of guys in this league that when they do something tangible on the court it’s actually worth more than that because of the way that the crowd reacts to what they do tj McConnell is on the short list of guys in that category everything the guy does this place erupts and he gave them an enormous lift there in the second quarter they fed off one another the McConnell minutes were significant the second 12 minutes of this game 36-7 for the home team they led by 20 at the half by 30 after three they cruise to the victory some points to make about this game and some context as the Pacers win sets the stage for the 20th game seven in the NBA Finals history and the first since 2016 of course that’s when Cleveland completed an historic comeback from a 3-1 series deficit that block from LeBron which led to a Kyrie three on the other end let’s not forget the significance of that bucket entering game six Pacers largest lead of the series was 10 that was late in the third of game four they’re up 30 which is the third largest uh ever they led by 22 at the half they won by 17 the fourth largest win to force the game seven you look ahead to Sunday pacers 4-6 all time in game seven’s 2-0 under Rick Carlile let’s not forget he does have a chip as for the Thunder 3-2 in winner take all since they moved to Oklahoma City including that gigantic game seven win over Denver earlier this year in seven and if you’re Indiana the important thing tonight was figure out how to get it to a game seven the 17-point win the largest by a team to force a game seven in NBA Finals history top two teams on the list went on to win their game sevens back in the 70s it was the Lakers who trounced the New York Knicker to get the victory all right we welcome in Mike Bra mike you come to the building you don’t know what you’re going to get i I mentioned that Tim Leggler and I were sitting up in the uh wherever we were sitting and we were saying Indiana’s winning this game tonight sometimes you just have a sense that there’s an energy and a will collectively the fact that Tyrese Hallebertton was able to give them what he gave them felt massive and that second quarter was incredible from your vantage point when did you sense we’re going to OKC well you knew that Indiana was going to play well you just knew it if you’ve watched them second half of the season and especially in the playoffs uh they rise to the occasion when they have to they’re they’re such a a well coached connected team um but the shocking thing for me was how poorly Oklahoma City played and how quickly Indiana kind of took their will away early on in the game and then the one time that you thought maybe the the Thunder could come back early in the third quarter they miss they don’t score for five minutes if just a couple of those go down it it you know can possibly change the momentum but all the credit to the to the Pacers i mean we have to stop calling them underdog and we can’t be surprised when they do something like this because they are a special team they really are and they now granted you have your home building that’s just not going to let you tap out but they miss their first eight shots to when this game begins but then by halftime Mike they’re up 20 points right after three quarters they’re up 30 points and I mean they played I felt to their ceiling particularly in that second quarter but I think the Thunder played as poorly as they possibly could and I’m trying to figure out what how much of that is what Indiana did well and how much of that was just almost inexplicable from the Thunder what was your sense of that i I’d give more Indiana they just played with such force this is a team that like last year too they had so many big playoff moments last year including that Celtics it was probably the closest sweep in NBA history right right and they did it without Hallebertton for the last two games so they’ve built up this experience and and all the the highs and lows of a playoff emotionally and mentally which is a big part of dealing with the playoffs how do you respond to losses how do you respond after big victories um that’s a big part of of gaining knowledge and they’ve gained all that and they’ve done it this year they’re an underdog every series they play in it seems and that seems to inspire them you and I spoke before the finals began 21 years doing it here and you’ve gone back before that with the Knicks back in what 94 you’ve been doing the finals for a long time you get to call a game seven on Sunday uh just the the preparation of what goes into that i’ve seen the notes they’re elaborate there’s nobody that’s better or more prepared what goes into getting ready for calling these most for most important 48 minutes of the NBA season well what what you try and do is is kind of think all right what will this mean in terms of the history of the franchise what does this mean in terms of the the growing although I hate the word legacy it’s too early for to talk about anybody’s legacy but just their reputation what it does how it changes lives it’s um those big picture things I think what makes this so unbelievable and the crazy thing Scott is the difference between winning and losing is so small and one of these teams who have been magnificent is going to have to walk away a a loser correct and that that is that’s so well put because it It’s fractional and yet one team is going to walk away with a legacy when their time is done because they’ll be forever champions we’ll find out Sunday in Oklahoma City travel well Mike a lot to sift through i want to start with I’m good i’m here i’m here okay cool i know you were talking with his pop about the superstar thing and that’s semantics you and I were talking off air i think his presence and his availability was that of a superstar because his team was able to tap into who he is early how much did he give him just by being He just gave him so much i mean Tyler Hallebertton deserves a boatload of credit tonight the way that he played uh obviously you know that calf was sore you know he’s not 100% you were questioning what he was going to have to give you everybody was looking for the quick hook and he comes out there he’s moving north south of her fairly well he’s getting others involved but then he looked aggressive and he was looking for a shot and he was sending a message to his teammates i’m here and I’m going to be here for this game and sure enough Nemhar got him started early he hit a couple of two two big buckets as well tj McConnell I can’t say enough about him every time this dude has come off the bench in this series he has been an additive a huge plus and he certainly was tonight had paces playing downhill had OKC Reeling I can’t say enough about him but Seakum Nemhard Nith especially uh TJ McConnell and of course OB topping okay this brother comes off the bench him and TJ were keys to victories in terms of setting the tone early and letting OKC know this was not going to be your night and we got a game seven and I think it’s going to be a th I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward in my life to going to OKC i do now i can’t wait for Sunday night i can’t wait and the interesting thing about this Thunder team Stephen and I they’ve gotten smoked in the in the playoffs it’s happened they went to Minnesota got obliterated but they flushed it quickly you made an interesting point to me off air about losing big in the finals but when it happens what’s what’s significant about where this is this is game six this is not game one this is not game three this is game six they’re down 32 they don’t just beat you they beat you down you went had Jub Jay Williams going from 40 in game five to a minus 40 a career low regular season postseason from 40 points to being a minus 40 yes shay Gilis Alexander turning the ball over eight times you saw a bunch of dudes on their squad that couldn’t hit the backside of a bond and you going back to OKC excuse me indiana came back from a 15-point deficit one game one okay they’ve already shown you they can beat you on your home court and then you’re going to get blown out like this on the road in Indiana in a game six game seven i don’t know if we’ve been in a situation that we could look as forward to a game seven as we can look forward to this one in quite a long time i believe it’s a pick them it’s anybody’s game i think you can’t miss can’t miss game seven Monday night it’s going to be special i agree sunday night Sunday night we’ll be in Oklahoma City and I mean the the good news for Oklahoma City is this only counts for one and the the best news is that they they get to play it on their home floor you’ll be there i’ll be there we’ll all be there stephen and I travel safely back and then we’ll see you there on Sunday evening no doubt i appreciate you Stephen blown out in game six the MVP Shay goes Alexander on what went wrong tonight in Indianapolis the way I see it is we suck tonight we have to learn the lessons um and we have one game for everything for everything we’ve worked for and so do today and uh the better team Sunday will win second row michael Jay Michael Granch from Sportsnet in Toronto um you know you’ve been under pressure this whole series from them defensively tonight they were able to get into the ball with more success I guess than they’ve had you know did they do anything different the turnover numbers for you were unusually high any explanation yeah they Yeah I don’t even know they just turned us over a bunch they um they didn’t pressure full court like they have been um which led to more turnovers i I didn’t expect that but whatever it is they did it right um and if we want to win on Sunday we got to take care of the ball moral of the story brian Winhor alongside a 36 to7 second quarter when this building was absolutely out of its mind really where this game went from up in the air to this home team’s going to win what struck you tonight about the way the Thunder fought or didn’t yeah so I’m not I’m not surprised at all by the posture that Shay is taking there because that is the way he has built this team he is very very famously even keel no matter what mark Dagenol very famously it talks about getting back to neutral getting back to zero mhm and they kind of played with not the emotion and edge that you think that you’d want to play with on a champion when you’re playing for a championship and that’s a strength and I think it possibly was a weakness tonight because when they face the force of a team facing elimination they didn’t match it and you know I have no doubt that Chay will come out and be great on Sunday and not be affected by this game that’s the positive but the negative is I not I’m not not sure that they were emotionally able to match what was required to win a road elimination game i just feel like there’s some human nature involved here you’ve already been down this road earlier in the playoffs against a great Denver team with arguably the best player on the planet and you went home and you won by 30 some odd and so you know you have that in your back pocket and the team on its home floor doesn’t want to see a party in its building i just tonight feels like that as much as anything but you do wonder as Stephen A pointed out this game six like does it linger into that because this this game seven is for everything right that’s a there’s a legacy game as much as I hate that word I will say that the Thunder have pretty much dominated in Oklahoma City now correct now granted there was a steal that took place in game one and that certainly counts that’s why it’s 3-3 but I think it’s something like they’ve they’ve led for 141 of 144 minutes in that building right so I think that there it would be a confidence going back um there was a strategy that he talked about there i do think Rick Carile should get credit tonight for sure because he did change up their defense instead of pressuring full court like they had been they did focus more on double teams in the half court but I also just thought that the Thunder were on their heels i I I mean I think it was part of both they were just letting the ball get taken from them it’s not like Shay hasn’t seen a double team in the half court before no but eight turnovers is is tied for a careerh high just a final quick thought i if I’m if I’m Carlile and the Pacers I do the same thing i clog the paint and say “Look you guys aren’t going to drive on us somebody’s going to have to hit shots.” Teams do tend to shoot better in their own building what’s your sense just of of game seven my sense is that in situations like this in the history of the NBA the team with the best player wins mhm the Thunder have the best player and he has to play like it on Sunday especially coming off the absolute dud that he laid tonight good news is it only counts for one game and Sunday counts for everything we’ll see in Oklahoma City okc is on the brink of a title indiana is desperate for a game seven there is one team playing with the desperation you would expect with their season on the line facing elimination the Indiana Pacers with a dominant first half this is a bludgeoning here in game six you can’t ask for more dominant performance the magic carpet ride for the Pacers is not over they’ll play for an NBA title on Sunday night they will on the home floor of the team who’s been the best throughout the season the opening odds ESPN bs 8 and a half for the home team i have sources that say it’s moved down to seven and a half already down to seven and a half buddy stanford Steve got his eyes on the numbers down to seven in the hook we’re going to be there to see that Sunday from Oklahoma City the money line has been sort of fluctuating throughout oklahoma City has been favored in all 23 games of the postseason that’s the longest streak by any team in the last 35 years one game for all the marbles and the good news for Shay and his team they’ll be at home where they’ve outscored opponents by 247 points during the postseason that is a tremendous building a season low 91 tied a careerhigh eight turnovers for him and the good news as I keep saying it counts for just one they flush it and they head home and we head there as well ever steve you said it and Tim Leggler and I said it before you just there’s a sense in this building that there this team wasn’t going to lose on this bu on this floor tonight the biggest thing that stood out to you was the building i thought the building was tremendous and all I kept thinking about the whole couple days here was there was a game in those 2000 finals when the Pacers got the Lakers here and that was their last game it was game five they won by uh 33 points and it was a frenzy tonight was a frenzy and then we got in the plane and I sat next to Travis Best i’m like there’s no way the Pacers are losing tonight there’s no way nine three-pointers made by halftime okc won that’s been the difference in the games three-point shooting who does it better and I think that what legs illustrated again if you’re Carl Ali made all these great moves I think I think they’ve made the move now you just have to see can you withstand the shooting of the Thunder on their home floor come Sunday we will be there to find

Scott Van Pelt is joined on SportsCenter by Tim Legler, Mike Breen, Stephen A. Smith, Brian Windhorst and Stanford Steve as they react to the Indiana Pacers’ 108-91 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

0:00 Thunder vs. Pacers
2:43 Tim Legler breaks down Pacers win
7:16 Mike Breen’s reaction
11:07 Stephen A. Smith joins
14:13 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander press conference
15:20 Brian Windhorst’s thoughts
18:14 Game 7 opening odds
19:22 Biggest thing that stood out

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