By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer
INDIANAPOLIS — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers, 111-104, on Friday night and tie the NBA Finals at two games apiece.
Jalen Williams added 27, Alex Caruso had 20 and Chet Holmgren finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Thunder. They did it the hard way – with a season-low three 3-pointers, and no assists from Gilgeous-Alexander for the first time all season.
Pascal Siakam scored 20 for Indiana, which got 18 from Tyrese Haliburton and 17 from Obi Toppin.
Game 5 of the series – now essentially a best-of-three – is at Oklahoma City on Monday night, with the Thunder having reclaimed home-court advantage.
And the Thunder basically saved their realistic chance at winning the title. Teams with a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals have gone on to win the championship 37 times in 38 past chances. The Pacers looked well on their way to being the 39th team with such an edge, before the Thunder found their game in the nick of time.
The league MVP led the way, too. Gilgeous-Alexander had nine straight points down the stretch as the Thunder took control.
The Pacers came out flying, scoring 20 points in the first 4:59 – only the second time all season the Thunder gave up so many so quickly. They led by as many as nine early, but were unable to pull away.
And things got chippy for the first time in the series: Toppin was called for a Flagrant 1 on Caruso midway through the second quarter, then Toppin was the recipient of a Flagrant 1 from Lu Dort just before the half. The Pacers closed on a 15-6 run, taking a 60-57 lead into the break.
Toppin’s baseline dunk late in the third put Indiana up 86-76, its first double-digit lead of the series coming late in the 15th quarter of the series. Back came OKC: A 13-3 run tied the score at 89 early in the fourth, the first of a handful of those down the stretch.
Tied at 91. Tied at 95. Tied at 97.
And, finally, the lead: Gilgeous-Alexander’s step-back jumper with 2:23 left put the Thunder up 104-103, their first lead of the second half. They kept it the rest of the way.
More to come on this story.
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