Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 123-107 in game two of the NBA Finals to level the series at 1-1.
The Pacers snatched victory in the final second of the opening game on Friday week, but on Sunday the Thunder dominated from start to finish.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s first basket at Paycom Center in Oklahoma took him to 3,000 points for the season, making him the 12th player in NBA history to reach the milestone.
Game three of the best-of-seven series, external takes place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 01:30 BST on Thursday, the first time Indianapolis has hosted a finals game in 25 years.
“They play a full 48 minutes and you can’t just throw the first punch,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “You’ve got to try to throw all the punches all night.
“That’s what we did. We threw enough punches tonight to get a ‘W’.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, added five rebounds and eight assists.
The Thunder’s Jalen Williams scored 19 points, Aaron Wiggins had 18 and Chet Holmgren recovered from a disappointing six points in game one to score 15 points with six rebounds.
The Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton was limited to 17 points, three rebounds and six assists.
“It’s still a race – first to four,” he said. “We are going to our home court tied 1-1.”
Haliburton walked out of the post-game news conference with a slight limp.
Seven Pacers players scored in double figures, including Myles Turner with 16 points and Pascal Siakam with 15.
Bbc.com
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