Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hadn’t had an MVP moment in these NBA Finals, hadn’t grabbed hold of a game and seized it in winning time.
That changed Friday night, when the Pacers had Game 4 in their hands and he ripped it away — along with home-court advantage in these NBA Finals — thanks to one of the best endgame performances in the last half-century.
With Oklahoma City trailing by four with 2:59 left, Gilgeous-Alexander had 11 of his 35 points down the stretch. It’s the most in the last three minutes of a Finals tilt in 50 years and carried the Thunder to a 111-104, come-from-behind victory in a game they absolutely had to have.
“We knew it when we woke up this morning; 3-1 is a lot different than 2-2 going back home. We played with desperation to end the game, and that’s why we won,” Gilgeous-Alexander said in a postgame TV interview. “We got to try to maintain the same desperation going into Game 5, Game 6, whatever it may be.”
