Two teams came to play in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
Just one met the moment. Indiana defeated Oklahoma City 108-91 in Game 6 Thursday, June 19.
And with that, the Indiana Pacers are still alive, the Thunder were denied an NBA championship, and the NBA Finals heads to a Game 7 with history on the line.
The Pacers have never won an NBA championship, and the Thunder are trying to win their first since relocating to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008.
This back-and-forth series is defined by turnovers, 3-point shooting, stars stepping up and a lack of momentum carrying over from one game to the next.
Here are the winners and losers from Game 6 between the Thunder and Pacers.
Thunder-Pacers Game 6 winners
Pacers swarm and smother on defense
Indiana, on defense, looked almost like the Thunder. Oklahoma City posted the NBA’s top-ranked defense in the regular season and built its brand on using active hands to deflect passes and force turnovers, rotating quickly and decisively to prevent open looks and staying aggressive along the perimeter.
The Pacers forced the Thunder into 21 turnovers, leading to ample transition opportunities. Indiana swiped 16 steals — compared to only four by Oklahoma City. The Pacers, in fact, generated more steals than the Thunder had assists (14). Indiana actually dialed back its full-court pressure, which it had relied upon earlier in the series, instead opting to smother OKC with intent in the half court.
T.J. McConnell, Obi Toppin and the Pacers bench shine again
One of the telling stats of this NBA Finals for the Pacers has been bench points. Indiana’s bench has now outscored Oklahoma City’s in five of the six games thus far. And Thursday night’s 48-37 advantage wasn’t even indicative of the entire picture, given that the Thunder pulled their starters at the start of the fourth quarter.
T.J. McConnell has been exceptional, a consistent spark and source of positive plays. He’s the most efficient Pacer in half-court sets and his effort is infectious. He posted 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals, marking the first time a bench player has recorded those figures in an NBA Finals game, since starters and bench player stats were first tracked in 1970-71. Forward Obi Toppin, who has developed a steady, knockdown jumper, added 20 points and six rebounds. When the Pacers bench is playing like this, they are tough to beat.
Indiana spreads the wealth
The Pacers, as they have all series, have spread the ball and have been a team where the whole is greater than the parts. They had six players reach double figures in scoring. Indiana has now become the first team in NBA postseason history to have eight players with at least 200 points in a single playoffs: Pascal Siakam (456), Tyrese Haliburton (390), Myles Turner (311), Aaron Nesmith (288), Andrew Nembhard (272), Bennedict Mathurin (219), Obi Toppin (216) and T.J. McConnell (202).
Thunder-Pacers Game 6 losers
Thunder turnovers
The Thunder had 21 turnovers, leading to 19 Pacers points. Can’t happen and it happened for the second time in the series – the Thunder had 25 turnovers in their Game 1 loss. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander committed a career-high eight turnovers.
He had more turnovers than made field goals (seven).
“They didn’t pressure full court like they have been, which led to more turnovers. I didn’t expect that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But whatever it is, they did it right. … They were definitely lower on the pickups. I’m not sure. Some of them I think was carelessness, not being as focused, not being engaged.”
Thunder offense
The Thunder’s turnovers led to a discombobulated offense that never found a rhythm. Oklahoma City shot 41.9% from the field, 26.7% on 3-pointers and had just 14 assists on 31 made field goals. Ball movement wasn’t there, shooting wasn’t there, and it was just the second time in 22 playoff games the Thunder scored fewer than 100 points.
Thunder starters were 1-for-13 on 3-pointers, Chet Holmgren scored just four points on 2-for-9 shooting and Alex Caruso didn’t score.
Thunder bench
Oklahoma City’s third unit of Isaiah Joe, Jaylin Williams, Ajay Mitchell, Dillon Jones and Ousmane Dieng played well in mop-up time, helping make the final score not as brutal as it could’ve been.
However, Oklahoma City’s scoring from the second unit was limited. Caruso, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace and Kenrich Williams combined for 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting. Indiana’s main reserves scored 41 points.
Sports fans who aren’t watching
This is a fantastic series with compelling swings from game to game. Both teams have stars, depth, play hard and are well coached. That was true at the start of the playoffs and remains true through six games of the Finals. It has all the elements of basketball that a fan should want. Including a Game 7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA Finals winners, losers: How Pacers beat Thunder, forced Game 7
