Why Thunder aren’t fazed by Game 1 NBA Finals choke after history repeats
NY Post
The Thunder aren’t hitting the panic button after dropping Game 1 of the NBA Finals to the Pacers at home Thursday night in stunning fashion.
Leading by 15 points in the fourth, Oklahoma City let the game slip away as Indiana rallied to a 111-110 victory after Pacers star and Knicks villain Tyrese Haliburton hit a 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining to take a 1-0 series lead — something league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said won’t deter the Thunder’s quest for the franchise’s first NBA title since the Sonics won in 1979.
“How you lose doesn’t really matter,” OKC’s star guard said, according to ESPN. “Obviously it sucks — last-second shot, the energy in the arena and stuff like that. But we lost at the end of the day. We lost Game 1.
“We’ve lost Game 1 before. On the other side of that, we came out a better team. That’s our goal.”
The Thunder choked away Game 1 of their second-round playoff series to the Nuggets last month after Denver stormed back from a 13-point hole to win, 121-119.
The Nuggets closed out the series opener with a 3-point shot from Aaron Gordon with 2.8 seconds remaining at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
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