Oklahoma City spent most of the regular season alone atop the Western Conference standings and just kept adding to its lead. Indiana didn't spend a single day atop the Eastern Conference standings and was still under the .500 mark in early January.
Different paths, same destination.
It will be the Thunder and the Pacers squaring off when the start in Oklahoma City on Thursday night, a this season.
鈥淲hen you get to this point of the season, it鈥檚 two teams and it鈥檚 one goal and so it becomes an all or nothing thing,鈥� Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. 鈥淎nd we understand the magnitude of the opponent. Oklahoma City has been dominant all year long 鈥� with capital letters in the word 鈥榙ominant.鈥� Defensively, they鈥檙e historically great and they got all kinds of guys that can score. It鈥檚 two teams that have similar structures, slightly different styles."
The deep dives into the other side were beginning in earnest on Sunday, a day after the Pacers finished off their Eastern Conference title by . Indiana was taking a day off before getting set to return to work on Monday; the Thunder were practicing in Oklahoma City.
鈥淲e always talk about human nature in our locker room and the human nature way of thinking about it is 鈥榝our wins away, four wins away.鈥� You kind of lose sight of the fact that you鈥檝e got to win one to get to four,鈥� Thunder guard Jalen Williams said Sunday. "You've got to stack wins. So, that鈥檚 how we鈥檙e looking at it. Let's get prepared for Game 1 now and just go from there. And I think that does make it a little easier now that we know who we鈥檙e playing.鈥�
The Pacers lost their 14th game of the regular season in early December; the Thunder lost 14 regular-season games this season, total. That would make it seem like this was an unlikely finals matchup.
But since Dec. 13, including regular-season and playoff games, the Thunder have the NBA's best record at 61-13. The team with the second-most wins in the league over those last 5 1/2 months? That would be Indiana, going 52-21 over that span.
鈥淲e had expectations to be here and this isn鈥檛 a surprise to any of us because of what we wanted to do,鈥� Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. 鈥淎nd I think obviously there鈥檚 a turning point there in December or January or whatever the case may be. But I just thought we did a great job of just being as present as possible, not living in the past, not worrying about what鈥檚 next, just worrying about what鈥檚 now.鈥�
What's now is the NBA Finals. The Pacers were a middle-of-the-pack pick to start the season, with 50-1 preseason odds to win the title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Thunder were only 9-1 entering the season, behind Boston and New York out of the East 鈥� and Denver and Minnesota, two teams that the Thunder eliminated in this season's West playoffs.
鈥淲e've learned a lot,鈥� Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein said. 鈥淲e've had to learn how to handle a lot of situations. I think that's going to help us now.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
