Finals Game Five: One Win Away

Entering Saturday, both the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Final were 2-2; a very close and back and forth championship period. Of course, a 2-2 series turns the whole thing into a best-of-three affair, and Game Five is immensely important. That's where the home field (or home ice in hockey) comes in. Game Five sends the series back to where it started. In the case of this year's NBA Finals, it's back to Oklahoma City. The Thunder took Game Four in comeback fashion in Indianapolis to even this thing at two, and the home court is back in OKC's favor.

In the Cup Final, the road team took Game Five. Could the Pacers do the same in their Finals? It didn't look good for Indy. The Thunder got off to an explosive start, which we have seen in OKC's past home games in this series. After the first quarter, OKC led by 10 points, and that lead increased a bit to 14 points at halftime. In Game One, we saw OKC's lead go down bit by bit until it was gone and Indy took it. In Game Two, OKC nearly lost it again, but they held on and evened the series.

In this outing, it looked like we'd see yet another Pacers heist. They had been stealing games a lot in this run, and a strong third quarter saw T.J. McConnell and Pascal Siakam dominate and chip away at that OKC lead. They had it down to two as the second half progressed, but OKC rebounded in the fourth quarter, which is the right time to rebound in a pivotal game. The Thunder found their bearings, and held on the rest of the way.

The Oklahoma City Thunder won Game Five, 120-109, and they are one win away from their first championship since relocating to OKC. As the Seattle SuperSonics, their lone championship came in 1979, and their last Finals appearance was in 1996, where they were defeated by the famous 72-win Bulls team. This is their second Finals appearance since relocating, and the Thunder are one win away from winning the whole thing. Shai-Gilgeous Alexander had his 15th 30+ point performance during this run, but the main star for the Thunder in this game was Jalen Williams, who put up forty points! On the Pacers' side, Pascal Siakam led with 28 points, but it was who didn't show up that is the story. Tyrese Haliburton was reduced to four points, and they all came at the free throw line.

So unlike Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final, Game Five of the NBA Finals saw the home team take that advantage. As a result, the Thunder, similar to the Florida Panthers, stand a win away from championship glory. I mentioned both Finals this year being 2-2, which means Game Six is automatic. We've only seen the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Final go seven in the same year three times. The last time that happened was 1994, and in an even wilder fun fact, that year saw both Madison Square Garden teams in that pivotal game. The Rangers won their Game Seven. The Knicks? Not so much.

Regarding the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Final, and the World Series all going seven in the same year, well, that only happened once. On April 10, 1955, the Syracuse Nationals defeated the Fort Wayne Pistons in Game Seven of the NBA Finals. Four days later, the Montréal Canadiens defeated the Detroit Red Wings in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Final, and on October 4, 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers won their first championship with a Game Seven win over the New York Yankees. So there are some fun facts right here.

Game Six is Thursday in Indianapolis, and the Larry O'Brien Trophy will be in the building!

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