Thunder beat Pacers to clinch NBA Finals

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots in Game 7 of NBA Finals — Oklahoma City Thunder guard and newly named Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots in Game 7

(Image credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)

What happened

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91 Sunday night to win Game 7 of the NBA Finals, giving the team its first championship since moving to Oklahoma from Seattle in 2008. Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 29 points, was named Finals MVP, making him the first player since LeBron James in 2013 to win that title, regular season MVP and a championship in the same season.

The Pacers' "resilience makes an opponent earn each victory," and the Thunder had to fight for this win, USA Today said. Indiana's "mental and physical strength powered them to a 48-47 halftime lead," even after superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton left the game in the first quarter with an Achilles injury. But "without their best player, they could not outlast the Thunder in front of a raucous Oklahoma City crowd," ESPN said. "We deserve this," Gilgeous-Alexander said after his team's victory. "There's so much more room to grow."

Oklahoma City has been the league's "most dominant team" all season, but the "most frightening thing for the rest of the NBA" going forward is that the Thunder "are just getting started," The Wall Street Journal said. They are the "youngest team in the NBA," and their "embarrassment of future draft picks" will just "add to an already dazzling stockpile of superstars who haven't even reached their prime."

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