Can the Thunder Defy the Odds Again and Complete Another Unbelievable Playoff Comeback?

“I think we played on their terms more than we played on our terms of how we wanted the game to be and to flow,” Alex Caruso said.” I think that was apparent just with the runs that they went on when they played well.”
If the Pacers can do that work in Game 4 in front of their raucous home crowd, they will be in command of this series.

“There’s no need to get super giddy or excited. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
“Some of it’s been our transition, I think. I think we do a lot of damage there that we haven’t gotten in this series so far,” Thunder coach Daigneault said.
Indiana needs to do that again on Friday night, or this will be a best-of-three series where Oklahoma City will have momentum and home court advantage.
Being themselves meant a couple of things to the Thunder. One was not turning the ball over, something they did 19 times in their Game 3 loss. Three of those were backcourt turnovers.
“But at the end of the day, we have to be who we are and who we’ve been all season. I think we got back to that in that series. If we want to give ourselves a chance in this series, it has to be the same thing.”
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Looking ahead at the matchup with Indiana, it’s clear this isn’t going to be a slow, grinding stalemate like their last series. The Pacers? They bring a different vibe, a different challenge. Yet the Thunder are carrying confidence like a badge of honor — because they’ve danced in this kind of fire before and lived to tell the tale. Tyrese Haliburton’s mindset? Pretty grounded — it’s all about controlling what they can and grinding hard for every point. No foolish exuberance, just hard work and focus, that’s the mantra. If they pull that off in front of their roaring crowd, the series could tilt dramatically.A large part of disrupting the Thunder’s flow and limiting their assists has been the impressive Pacers’ transition defense.INDIANAPOLIS — You know, Oklahoma City’s no stranger to these nail-biters. Just a few weeks back, they found themselves down 2-1 against Denver, staring down the barrel of elimination. But what did they do? Scrapped, clawed, and rallied in Game 4 — a messy, gritty fight fueled by Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins’ late surge that flipped the script entirely. That tenacity? It’s not just luck, it’s experience — and it’s something they’re banking on now. Indiana is a very different team — don’t expect Game 4 of the NBA Finals to be a grinding and slow affair — but having done this before gives Oklahoma City confidence that it can do it again.

The Thunder also played more in isolation in Game 3 than they would have liked, with the assists and ball movement that had defined their run to the NBA Finals fading in the face of more intense and focused defensive pressure from the Pacers.“We’ve been here before. Got to bounce back. Get the car back on the road,” Wallace said, summing it all up pretty perfectly. His words echo in my mind alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s reflections on the roller-coaster ride of the series so far — it’s that mix of déjà vu and the determination to stay true to their identity that could very well tip the scales. “Yeah, we turned the ball over at a high rate the last game,” Wallace said. “We got to turn that over.”INDIANAPOLIS — Oklahoma City has been here before.So buckle up. This showdown is shaping up to be a barnburner, with both teams primed to lay it all on the floor. It’s one hell of a chess match — and with so much on the line, I, for one, can’t wait to see who makes the next big move.“Yeah, it feels a lot similar,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added. “Obviously losing Game 1 on a buzzer-beater, winning big Game 2, being up in Game 3 and losing the lead. There’s a lot of similarities…“We’re excited to play another game in front of our home crowd, approach this game the same way we approached yesterday,” Tyrese Haliburton said. “Just control what we can. I think the biggest thing is just playing hard. If we can do that, we can figure everything out from there.The Pacers have been here, too — they have led every team these playoffs by 2-1. They also won Game 4 in every round.But here’s the kicker — being themselves means cleaning up the sloppy stuff, like the turnovers that haunted them in that crucial Game 3. It means finding back that slick ball movement and avoiding the trap of isolation plays that let the Pacers’ defense take over. And that Indiana defense? Man, their transition game is like an iron wall right now.Just a month ago, the Thunder trailed the Nuggets 2-1 and had to win Game 4 on the road to stay in that series. They did it in a grinding, at times sloppy game, where Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins sparked a fourth-quarter run and comeback that gave OKC the win and showed they could win gritty, tough games.“We’ve been here before. Got to bounce back. Get the car back on the road,” Wallace said.Oh, and let’s not forget — the Pacers have been the masters of comeback, holding leads at 2-1 and sealing Game 4 wins in every playoff round. So Friday night? It’s more than just a game. It’s a pivotal crossroads where Indiana aims to command the series, or Oklahoma City seizes momentum with home-court advantage swinging back their way.