NBA Finals: Oklahoma City Thunder cap incredible season by beating Indiana Pacers in Game 7 to win title | Basketball News

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists, while Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA championship, withdrawing in the second period to beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91 on Sunday evening; Jalen Williams scored 20 and Chet Holmgren had 18 for the Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (center) holds the MVP trophy

Oklahoma City Thunder has closed an extraordinary season by beating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in match 7 of the NBA final to win the first title of the franchise since the Seattle move in 2008.

The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP league led the scoring in front of a noisy crowd in the center of Oklahoma City with 29 points and 12 assists.

He was also crowned the best player on the final, marking the first time since Shaquille O’Neal in 2002 that the same player had won the score title, the regular season and the MVP honors in the final

Gilgeous-Alexander (2) was appointed MVP of the NBA final

The Pacers suffered a hard blow very early when they lost the star playmaker Tyrese Haliburton halfway from the first quarter with an injury from Achilles and saw their hopes of a title struggle by a stifling defense of Oklahoma City in the second period.

“It doesn’t seem real,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “So many hours, so many moments, so many emotions, so many nights of disbelief, so many nights of belief.

“This group works hard. This group took the hours and we deserve this,” he added.

The championship crowned an extraordinary race for the Thunder, which ended the regular season with a 68-14 file, good for the fifth most important victories in a single NBA season.

The finals between two small market teams were light on the power of the stars, but delivered thrills, while the champions surprise of the champions of the Eastern Conference pushed the best team of the League to the winner’s final.

The Pacers went down to the straight track while Haliburton emptied his third three points five minutes after the match, but the night took a terrible turn for Indiana when he slipped and fell two minutes later.

The Two Time All Star was in tears while the medical staff of his team rushed alongside him and that a silence fell on the building filled with fans of Oklahoma City.

Haliburton was helped in the locker room but did not return, and although there was no official update of the team, a television program reported that he had suffered an injury from Achilles.

The resilient pacers kept the game tight through a second physical quarter, setting up a great defensive effort to finish half-time with one.

However, the Thunder quickly took control with Gilgeous-Alexander, who went 0-5 behind the arc in the first half, lighting the fuse with a boost three points of 25 feet four minutes after the third quarter.

The Pacers were masters of late return to the playoffs, but without Haliburton, they could not recover the deficit with the Thunder opening the fourth quarter with a sequence of 9-0.

“Focusing on being the best version of myself for this basketball team, for everything you need, for as many games, as many goods are necessary, also many moments,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.

“In the end, I’m just trying to stay in the moment. I think that’s what brought me coming here. This is what helped me make the MVP price, to realize everything I accomplished. It helped this team win basketball matches.”

Oklahoma won 84 games between the regular season and the playoffs, equaling the Bulls of Chicago 1996-1997 for the third place in all season. Only Golden State (88 in 2016-17) and the Bulls (87 in 2015-2016) won more.