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The NBA final begins Thursday evening in a battle of two small market teams which have proven that they belong.
The title will cross Oklahoma City, while the Thunder, seeded n ° 1 of the Western Conference, welcomes the Pacers of Indiana.
OKC went 68-14 during the regular season with the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP in mind.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder goalkeeper, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, # 2, goes to the basket next to the Indiana Pacers Tyrese Haliburton goalkeeper, # 0, during the second trimester at the Paycc Center. (Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn)
As for the Pacers, these are the heavy outsiders, having won 18 less games. However, their 50-32 record was good for fourth place in the East.
Indiana has been in its first final since 2000 and history has been repeated this year. Like this team 25 years ago, they defeated the New York Knicks to arrive here. They had previously beaten their division rivals in the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in five and six games, respectively, before removing New York in six competitions.
It is a bit of a magic carpet tour for the Pacers, who had miraculous returns in the playoffs. In nearly 1,500 playoff games since 1997, only four times, a team returned to win after following more than seven points in the last minute of the fourth quarter or extensions – the Pacers won three of these games this season only. A victory would be their first title of the NBA, but they won three ABA championships in the early 1970s.
The Indiana Pacers Tyrese Haliburton goalkeeper, # 0, made a strangulation movement to the New York Knicks after hitting a shot at the end of the fourth quarter of the match 1 of the NBA Basketball Eastern Conference on Wednesday May 21, 2025 in New York. (AP photo / Frank Franklin II)
Rick Carlisle de Pacers reacts after Knicks rejected Tom Thibodeau: “ I thought it was a false affair of ia ”
The Thunder, however, is a different animal – they had, by far, the best defensive note in the association. They had problems with the Denver Nuggets, beating them in seven games in the second round, but they took care of the business against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference final in five games.
They swept away Memphis’ grizzles to start their quest for playoffs.
OKC has been in his first final since Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden lost against Miami Heat, who was in their second year of the three great compounds of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The OKC three-headed monster four years later made its advance in 3-1 at the 73-9 Golden State Warriors (James has returned the same with the Cleveland horsemen), and in recent years, this has been a huge fight for thunder.
However, this is by far the best team they had since had moved Seattle in 2008, and a victory would be their first since his departure to the East. The supersonics won the title in 1979.
The Oklahoma City Thunder goalkeeper Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, # 2, and striker Chet Holmgren, # 7, celebrate after a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the third quarter in the second match of the West Conference final for the NBA 2025 eliminations at the Paycc Center. (Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn)
The finals format is 2-2-1-1-1, with games 1 and 2 in Oklahoma City Thursday and Sunday, and matches 3 and 4 in Indianapolis next Wednesday and Friday. If necessary, match 5 will take place on June 16 in Oklahoma, with match 6 to Indy three days later. Match 7 would be back in OKC on June 22.
