OKC points to 'unforced errors' amid unraveling

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jalen Williams swished a pugnacious pull-up 3-pointer astatine the third-quarter buzzer to springiness the Oklahoma City Thunder a five-point lead. Not overmuch went close for them aft that point.

"We conscionable had a batch of unforced errors," Williams said aft Oklahoma City's 116-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers successful Wednesday's pivotal Game 3 of the NBA Finals. "They capitalized connected them due to the fact that they're a bully team."

The Thunder were outscored 32-18 successful the 4th quarter. It was the 2nd clip this play Indiana outscored Oklahoma City by a double-digit borderline successful the last frame. That is the quality successful the series, arsenic the Pacers rallied from down successful the 4th fourth successful some of their wins.

"In the 4th quarter, I conscionable thought they truly outplayed america connected some ends," Thunder manager Mark Daigneault said. "I thought they were successful quality successful presumption of their physicality, their unit connected defense. Then they were successful quality successful presumption of their gait connected offense."

The Pacers improved to 9-1 successful clutch games this season, the astir clutch wins successful a azygous postseason since the Miami Heat went 11-3 successful specified games successful 2020, according to ESPN Research.

This is simply a acquainted predicament for the Thunder, who fought backmost from a 2-1 shortage against the Denver Nuggets successful the Western Conference semifinals, yet winning successful 7 games.

"We person a large accidental here," said Oklahoma City center/power guardant Chet Holmgren, who scored 20 points but struggled successful the 4th quarter, erstwhile helium was 1-of-5 from the level and had his changeable blocked by Pacers large antheral Myles Turner 3 times. "The large happening is we person different crippled coming up, Game 4. We can't beryllium reasoning astir vexation oregon anything. No substance however bully it's going, however atrocious it's going, the absorption can't beryllium connected your emotions. It has to beryllium connected what we're trying to accomplish, the task astatine hand."

Oklahoma City, often playing against full-court unit aft allowing the Pacers to score, missed 9 of its last 10 shots from the floor. That disfigured agelong started aft a Williams floater pulled the Thunder wrong a constituent of the Pacers with 5:58 remaining.

The Thunder's lone bucket down the agelong was a midrange pull-up by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but that was the MVP's lone tract extremity successful the 4th quarter. He was held to 3 points connected 1-of-3 shooting with nary assists successful the last frame.

"They were aggressive," Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Pacers' defense. "They were dense successful the crowd. I'm not definite however galore points they had, but it felt similar erstwhile they scored, we're going against a acceptable defense, and it's ever harder against a acceptable defense."

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points connected 9-of-20 shooting, his lowest-scoring show since a lopsided Game 3 nonaccomplishment to the Minnesota Timberwolves successful the West finals. He had 4 assists and six turnovers, the archetypal clip this postseason that helium had a antagonistic assist-to-turnover ratio.

"It goes backmost to a small spot much force," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "If we're much assertive successful the pick-and-roll and mounting it up, past we get a amended angle. Things similar that usually comes down to who throws the archetypal punch."

The Thunder's 2 losses successful the Finals person travel down to the Pacers landing a flurry of punches astatine the end.

"To triumph games of this magnitude, astatine this level, we person to beryllium better," Holmgren said. "We request to adjacent games, adjacent quarters, adjacent possessions. It doesn't conscionable travel down to the extremity of the game. We got to fig retired however to enactment ourselves successful a amended presumption for the full 48 minutes."