Thunder beat Pacers to clinch first NBA title

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped off his MVP season in style, posting 29 points and 12 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 103-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.

The Thunder’s NBA championship marks their first since relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008. The franchise’s only other title came in 1979, when they were known as the Seattle SuperSonics.

While that championship remains part of the team's official history, there’s no banner commemorating it in Oklahoma City, making Sunday night’s triumph the first celebrated title in their current home.



Jalen Williams added 20 points and Chet Holmgren contributed 18 as the Thunder pulled away in the second half, outscoring Pacers 34-20 in the third quarter to seize control.

The Thunder’s 84 total wins this season, including playoffs, ties the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for the third-most in NBA history, behind only the 2016-17 Warriors (88) and 2015-16 Bulls (87).


The Pacers, who led 48-47 at halftime despite losing All-Star Tyrese Haliburton early to what was later revealed as an Achilles injury, couldn’t keep pace.

Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 24 points and 13 rebounds, but the team fell short in its bid for a first-ever NBA title.


"It doesn't feel real, so many hours, so many moments, so many emotions, so many nights of disbelief," Gilgeous-Alexander said, his voice breaking "It's crazy to know that we're all here.

"But this group worked for it, this group put in the hours and we deserved this."

The Pacers, who captured three American Basketball Association championships (ABA) during the 1970s, are still chasing their first NBA title since the ABA-NBA merger.

Despite their storied past in the ABA, Indiana has yet to replicate that championship success on the NBA stage.