SGA dazzles in 4th as Thunder rally to take Game 4 of NBA Finals - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — Game on the line, season quite possibly on the line, the Oklahoma City Thunder had only one place to turn.

They went to the MVP.

And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered, scoring 15 of his 35 points in the final 4:38, capping Oklahoma City's rally from a 10-point second-half deficit and sealing a 111-104 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night to tie the NBA Finals at two games apiece.

«He definitely showed who he is tonight,» Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

It was all SGA for OKC down the stretch. The Thunder closed the game on a 16-7 run, and Gilgeous-Alexander had all but one of those points, including 11 in the final three minutes. That was tied for the second-most points in the last three minutes of an NBA Finals game in the past 50 years, according to ESPN Research.

«We played with desperation to end the game,» Gilgeous-Alexander said, «and that's why we won.»

Jalen Williams added 27, Alex Caruso had 20 and Chet Holmgren finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Thunder. They did it the hard way — with a season-low three 3-pointers, and no assists from Gilgeous-Alexander for the first time all season.

Pascal Siakam scored 20 for Indiana, which got 18 from Tyrese Haliburton and 17 from Obi Toppin.

Game 5 of the series — now essentially a best-of-three — is at Oklahoma City on Monday night, with the Thunder now having reclaimed home-court advantage.

«This kind of a challenge is going to have extreme highs and extreme lows,» Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. «This is a low right now and we're going to have to bounce back from it.»

The Thunder basically saved their realistic chance at winning the title. Teams with a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals have gone on to win the championship 37 times