Charles Barkley is ready to call this year’s NBA Finals in favor of the Thunder.
Following Oklahoma City’s 111-104 road victory over the Pacers on Friday night, Barkley said the Thunder now have a huge advantage and called the series “a wrap” after the game.
“Yeah, I think they are in trouble,” Barkley said of the Pacers during postgame coverage. “Because when you have a team on the ropes, you have to finish them off. You go up 3-1, you are in great shape. But now, you go back. … Number one, you know Oklahoma City has a better team. Now, they are back to their original starting lineup, which will be better next game.
“Then they realize, ‘Man, we have got to play our bench more. We’re back to the thing that got us to the NBA Finals. We’re back to big-big. We’re gonna dominate them on the boards.’ They are going back to Oklahoma City. I think this series is a wrap. I thought [Friday] was a big deal for both teams.”
The Thunder tied the series at two with their win on Friday, with star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pouring in a game-high 35 points while shooting a perfect 10-for-10 on free throws.
“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 television interview. “We got to try to maintain the same desperation going into Game 5, Game 6, whatever it may be.”
With the Thunder down four with just three minutes left, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 points in that span.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s unreal. Obviously, really closed that thing offensively,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said of his superstar. “He was outstanding.”
Daigneault decided to rest the Gilgeous-Alexander for four minutes in the first quarter to save his energy for later in the game, a move that ultimately worked as the reigning MVP was able to outmatch the Pacers physically.
“Well, I have no choice,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “What I want to do in this basketball game, what this team wants to do with this basketball game, it comes with it.
“Fighting through all that, playing through all that and imposing that will on the other end as well. So the way we see it, the way I see it, we have no choice but to play through it.”
Credit: Source link
