The Oklahoma City Thunder put together an impressive first half in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night against the Indiana Pacers, taking a 57-45 lead into the break at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
OKC’s offense wasn’t necessarily the strong point.
Instead it was the Thunder’s defense, and that’s what ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith stressed during ABC’s halftime show.
“There’s like six defenders out there,” Smith said. “They’re like a bunch of piranhas.”
The Pacers had 19 turnovers.
The Thunder shot just 37% from the field but had 19 more attempts and made five more than Indiana.
“I haven’t seen anything like this in all my years of covering the NBA,” Smith said. “I saw Tyrese Haliburton near the end of the first half, being on one-on-one situation after a rebound of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, goes by him, thinks he’s got a layup and the next thing he knows he’s there but the ball isn’t because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stripped him when he was about to go up. They got hands everywhere.”
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