Thunder Strike Gold in Game 7 to Clinch First NBA Title Since Relocation
What an incredible finish to the 2025 NBA Finals — the Oklahoma City Thunder are officially the NBA Champions after taking down the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in an intense and emotional Game 7. This one had everything you’d expect from a Finals decider: grit, tension, heartbreak, and triumph. And now, the Thunder finally have their first championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008.
Let’s talk about how it all went down.
From the opening tip, it was a high-stakes chess match, but things took a brutal turn early on for the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana’s star and floor general, went down in the first quarter with what appeared to be a serious Achilles injury. He had been nursing a calf strain throughout the series, and this might’ve been the breaking point. The sight of him being helped off the court sent a chill through the arena and visibly shook his teammates. You could feel the momentum shift even though the Pacers held strong and led 48-47 at halftime.
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But the third quarter — that’s when OKC absolutely flipped the switch. Their defense was suffocating. They forced eight turnovers in just that quarter, converting those into 18 points and taking complete control of the game. Indiana just couldn’t recover. By the end of the third, the Thunder led 81-68, and from there, they never looked back.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showed why he was both the regular season and Finals MVP. He dropped 29 points, dished 12 assists, grabbed 5 boards, and completely commanded the game’s tempo. Jalen Williams backed him up with a stellar series, averaging 23.6 points per game — earning major praise from SGA himself, who called him “a once-in-a-lifetime player.”
Defensively, it was a masterclass from OKC. The Pacers finished with 23 turnovers, which turned into 32 Thunder points — that’s the story right there. Indiana also had their worst shooting night of the playoffs, hitting just 41.4% from the field and scoring a postseason-low 91 points. Without Haliburton, their offense just couldn’t get in sync. T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin gave it everything, but it wasn't enough.
This win wraps up the best season in Oklahoma City Thunder history. They won a franchise-record 68 games in the regular season and had the best scoring differential ever — nearly 13 points per game. Their playoff run was just as impressive: a 16-7 record, winning two Game 7s, and taking the crown.
For Indiana, it’s a bittersweet ending. They showed incredible fight all playoffs long and came closer than they ever have to a title. But Haliburton’s injury casts a dark cloud on what’s next for them. If it’s a torn Achilles, he could miss the entire 2025-26 season.
So now the confetti falls in Oklahoma City. After years of rebuilding and heartbreak, the Thunder are finally NBA Champions — and the way they did it proves they’re not done just yet.
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