The OKC Thunder tied things up with the Indiana Pacers at 2-2 after a gutsy comeback win on Friday night, and, subsequently, now made this 2025 NBA Finals matchup a best-of-three showdown.
Though excitement among the fanbase may be at an all-time high as a result, for this is now technically the closest the franchise has ever been to winning a championship since migrating to the Sooner State, it mustn't blind them from the fact that this was truly an ugly outing for the ball club.
However, in an odd way, this reality check seems to make their 111-104 triumph all the more impressive.
Despite ugly performance, Thunder still managed to find a way to win
For a majority of the game, the eye-test had many convinced that Oklahoma City didn't deserve to win this pivotal Game 4.
Heck, looking at the final box score, it would be easy to convince someone who wasn't aware of the game's outcome that the Thunder lost, as they were outperformed in the long-range shooting department (just three makes compared to Indiana's 11), outmatched in overall field goal attempts (78 to 80), and outclassed in sharing the wealth (Pacers had 21 assists while OKC only had 11).
Yet, despite trailing in all of these key areas of play, the Thunder managed to pull out a seven-point win in front of a raucous crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, thanks, in large part, to their crunch-time play.
In the final five minutes of regulation, with the score reading 97-95 in favor of the home team, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block on 50.0 percent shooting) reminded everyone of why he was crowned the league's most valuable player, as he single handedly outscored the Pacers 14-7 to lead OKC to victory.
Of course, equally as important as the superstar's offensive heroics was the Thunder's uptick in defensive energy and effectiveness as an overall unit, as they held Indiana to just one make on six total attempts during this final stretch while recording two blocks and a steal along the way.
While their key flaws from their previous contests may have remained painfully obvious throughout the game (Indiana's bench outscored Oklahoma City's 36 to 27), what their performance on Friday night proved is that, whether they're leading the charge or clawing their way back from a grueling deficit, SGA and company have the capability of staying ready until the bitter end.
The way the Thunder played in the final few minutes completely rendered Indiana's advantages from the previous 37 minutes of action obsolete. Now, they head back to Oklahoma for Monday's Game 5 with a 0-0 mentality.