By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Oklahoma City Thunder controlled the second half to top the Indiana Pacers, 103-91, in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV.
After being named Most Valuable Player of the 2024-25 Regular Season and of the Western Conference Finals, 26-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also collected the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player as the Finals MVP on Sunday.
“So many hours, so many moments, so many emotions, so many nights of disbelief, so many nights of belief,” reacted the Canadian combo guard in a postgame interview immediately following the season-ending NBA Sundays contest in Paycom Center.
The visitors played most of Game 7 without leader Tyrese Haliburton. Already dealing with a strained right calf, he was forced to an early exit with 4:55 left in the first quarter due to a lower right leg injury. In just over seven minutes, he put up nine points with three triples.
On the way to lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy with his teammates, marking the second NBA championship in franchise history after the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979, SGA tallied 29 points, 12 assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and one assist in Game 7. Overall in the Finals, he averaged 30.3 points, 5.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.6 blocks.
Helping break a 3-3 tie in a best-of-seven championship series, German Isaiah Hartenstein went for seven points, nine rebounds, four assists, and one steal, lasting 18 minutes. Belgian Ajay Mitchell and French Ousmane Dieng played 32 seconds in the fourth quarter, but Serbian Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) remained sidelined.
2025 NBA Playoffs presented by Google
Conference Quarterfinals (best of seven)
East
Cleveland Cavaliers – Miami Heat 4-0 (121-100, 121-112, 124-87, 138-83)
Boston Celtics – Orlando Magic 4-1 (103-86, 109-100, 93-95, 107-98, 120-89)
New York Knicks – Detroit Pistons 4-2 (123-112, 94-100, 118-116, 94-93, 103-106, 116-113)
Indiana Pacers – Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 (117-98, 123-115, 101-117, 129-103, 119-118)
West
Oklahoma City Thunder – Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 (131-80, 118-99, 114-108, 117-115)
Houston Rockets – Golden State Warriors 3-4 (85-95, 109-94, 93-104, 106-109, 131-116, 115-107, 89-103)
Los Angeles Lakers – Minnesota Timberwolves 1-4 (95-117, 94-85, 104-116, 113-116, 96-103)
Denver Nuggets – Los Angeles Clippers 4-3 (112-110, 102-105, 83-117, 101-99, 131-115, 105-111, 120-101)
Conference Semifinals (best of seven)
East
Cleveland Cavaliers – Indiana Pacers 1-4 (112-121, 119-120, 126-104, 109-129, 105-114)
Boston Celtics – New York Knicks 2-4 (105-108, 90-91, 115-93, 113-121, 127-102, 81-119)
West
Oklahoma City Thunder – Denver Nuggets 4-3 (119-121, 149-106, 104-113, 92-87, 112-105, 107-119, 125-93)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Golden State Warriors 4-1 (88-99, 117-93, 102-97, 117-110, 121-110)
Conference Finals (best of seven)
East
New York Knicks – Indiana Pacers 2-4 (135-138, 109-114, 106-100, 121-130, 111-94, 108-125)
West
Oklahoma City Thunder – Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1 (114-88, 118-103, 101-143, 128-126, 124-94)
NBA Finals (best of seven)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Indiana Pacers 4-3 (110-111, 123-107, 107-116, 111-104, 120-109, 91-108, 103-91)