Honestly, if you weren’t glued to the screen on June 13, 2025, you missed the moment the vibe of the entire series shifted. It’s easy to look back now and say the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the title was inevitable, but after Game 3, people were genuinely panicking. The Indiana Pacers looked like they had figured out the puzzle. They had the momentum. Gainbridge Fieldhouse was loud enough to rattle anyone.
Then game 4 nba finals happened.
Most fans remember the final score—111-104 for OKC—but the box score is a liar. It doesn't show you the tension of the third quarter where it felt like Tyrese Haliburton was about to pull a disappearing act on the Thunder's championship hopes.
The Game 4 NBA Finals Turnaround Nobody Saw Coming
Going into this game, the Pacers were leading the series 2-1. History says that teams up 3-1 in the Finals win the championship about 95% of the time. This was, for all intents and purposes, a "must-win" for Mark Daigneault’s squad.
The first half was ugly. Basketball purists might call it "defensive," but it was a slog. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was getting double-teamed at the logo. Chet Holmgren looked a bit gassed. Meanwhile, Pascal Siakam was doing that weird, effective midrange thing where he just doesn't miss.
Indiana was up by five late in the fourth. The crowd was ready for a party.
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Then Shai just... stopped being human.
He finished with 35 points, but 12 of those came in a relentless burst during the final six minutes. It wasn't just the scoring, though. It was the way he manipulated the Pacers’ defense. He’d drive, draw three jerseys, and somehow find Jalen Williams for a momentum-killing bucket. Williams ended up with 27, and frankly, he was the unsung hero of the night.
Why the Pacers’ Defense Collapsed
Rick Carlisle is a tactical genius, but OKC basically forced him into a "pick your poison" scenario. If you stayed home on the shooters, Shai lived at the free-throw line (he went a perfect 10-for-10). If you collapsed on Shai, Isaiah Joe or Alex Caruso would punish you from the corner.
Actually, let's talk about Caruso. His stat line doesn't scream "MVP," but his five steals in game 4 nba finals were backbreakers. Every time Indiana tried to establish a rhythm in the post, Caruso was there like a ghost, poking the ball away.
- SGA's dominance: 35 points, 12 in the clutch.
- The glass: Chet Holmgren grabbed 15 rebounds, many of them contested over Myles Turner.
- The run: A 12-1 Thunder run to close the game silenced the Indy crowd.
It’s kinda wild how one six-minute stretch can rewrite a franchise’s history. If OKC loses that game, they go down 3-1. They probably don't win the series in seven. Instead, they tied it at 2-2 and reclaimed home-court confidence.
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Misconceptions About the "Small Market" Finals
There was a lot of chatter about this being the "lowest-rated" Finals because it didn't have the Lakers or Celtics. Critics were loud. They said nobody outside of Oklahoma or Indiana cared.
They were wrong.
The viewership for Game 4 actually hit a series high at 9.41 million viewers. People realized they were watching the future of the league. You had two teams built through smart trades and drafting rather than just buying stars in free agency.
The technical execution in this game was off the charts. Both teams were running complex "Spain" pick-and-rolls and switching everything. If you're a basketball nerd, this was your Super Bowl.
What Really Happened in the Fourth Quarter?
If you re-watch the tape, the turning point wasn't a shot. It was a defensive adjustment. Daigneault put Lu Dort on Haliburton and told him to pick him up full-court.
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Haliburton is brilliant, but he likes a certain pace. Dort turned the game into a wrestling match. It threw the Pacers’ timing off just enough that they started settling for contested threes instead of the paint touches that had served them so well in Game 3.
Indiana shot just 1-of-9 in the final four minutes. You can't win a Finals game like that.
Actionable Insights for the Next Season
Looking back at the game 4 nba finals data, there are a few things every team (and bettor) should take away for the 2026 season:
- Free throw reliability matters more than ever. OKC won because they shot nearly 90% from the stripe. In high-pressure games, those "boring" points are the difference between a ring and a flight home.
- The "Third Star" is the tiebreaker. Everyone knows SGA and Haliburton are great. The game was decided by Jalen Williams and Pascal Siakam. When your secondary options are elite, your ceiling is higher.
- Bench depth is a regular-season luxury, but a postseason necessity. Alex Caruso and TJ McConnell were arguably the most impactful players for their respective units off the bench.
If you're looking to analyze upcoming matchups, pay attention to "Defensive Rating under 5 minutes." OKC led the league in that category during the playoffs, and Game 4 was the perfect proof of why that stat predicts champions.
Review the full box scores from the 2025 series to see how the shooting splits changed between home and away games. It’ll give you a much better perspective on why the Thunder’s road win in Game 4 was arguably the most impressive feat of their entire championship run.