After trading wins through the first four games of the NBA Finals, Oklahoma City broke the series tie to command a 3-2 lead with back-to-back wins.

The Thunder dominated in their return to Paycom Center as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams combined for 71 points en route to a 120-109 victory. Indiana took a narrow 12-11 lead with 9:03 left in the first quarter and never reclaimed it. 

Oklahoma City’s defense stirred havoc on the Pacers all game. 

Game one hero Tyrese Haliburton was battling a lower leg injury and was held to only four points. Haliburton went 0-6 from the field, only scoring from the free-throw line.

Gilgeous-Alexander recorded four blocks and two steals in addition to his 31-point performance. The Thunder outnumbered Indiana in blocks 12 to four and steals 15 to nine.

In the fourth, the Thunder shook off a rally by the Pacers that closed their 18-point lead to only two points. 

A behind-the-back pass from Gilgeous-Alexander led to a Williams deep ball. Followed by a scoop-and-score by fellow ex-Wildcat Cason Wallace, the OKC lead extended to seven.

Indiana continued to be outmatched by the Thunder defense.

Gilgeous-Alexander persistently split through the Pacers’ double teams and found open teammates, fueling an 18-to-2-point run to close out the win. Claiming the first back-to-back victory for either team this series.

The Kentucky alum finished with a double-double with 31 points and 10 assists, his first of the series. 

Game five marked Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth 30-point performance of the NBA Finals. Currently, he is averaging 32.4 points, 5.0 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and 2.4 steals per game.

A Finals victory almost looks certain for the Thunder. Given Halliburton’s injury and the palpable momentum swinging in Oklahoma City’s favor with consecutive wins.

Gilgeous-Alexander is one win away from claiming the first Finals MVP for any Kentucky player in NBA history. Additionally, Gilgeous-Alexander would join an exclusive club of legends to earn Finals MVP and league MVP in the same season.

He would become the first double-crowned MVP since LeBron James in 2013.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received the ball at the top of the key with the Thunder up 110-109, he spun for a fadeaway with 12 seconds left on the clock.

He missed.

Indiana scrapped for the rebound, eventually handing the ball off to their star, Tyrese Haliburton, with six seconds remaining. Haliburton rose over the Thunder’s Cason Wallace for an off-balanced deep two.

Haliburton sank it.

The Indiana bench leaped and celebrated in excitement as Haliburton gave the Pacers the go-ahead 111-110 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on the road. As the Thunder forfeited a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander walked off the court at the Paycom Center in front of a shell-shocked home crowd without a win despite dropping a game-best 38 points to pair with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Game two started with Indiana and the Thunder going back and forth in what looked like a close game in the making again. Oklahoma City took a 26-20 lead after the first quarter.

The former Wildcat ended the first quarter with six points, only shooting 2-5 from the field with a miss and a make on his two free throw attempts. 

Although the scoring wasn’t coming immediately, Gilgeous-Alexander had three assists by finding open teammates. It fueled Thunder big man Chet Holmgren to leap to nine quick points.

In the second quarter, the Pacers’ offense was sputtering.

The Thunder capitalized. Gilgeous-Alexander led his team with nine points in the quarter without a 3-point attempt, rather scoring in the midrange and getting to the basket multiple times, including a hard-fought-and-one bucket. Oklahoma City rushed out to a 19-2 run.

On defense, the league MVP picked two steals from Indiana’s clutches and met Aaron Nesmith at the rim as he swatted Nesmith’s layup away. 

Oklahoma City took a commanding 59-41 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Gilgeous-Alexander continued to score proficiently by attacking the rim, nailing off-balanced midrange shots and getting to the free-throw line. Additionally, Gilgeous-Alexander shook off the Pacers’ double teams to find open teammates for open looks.

The Thunder kept their foot on the gas and routed Indiana 123-107 to split the series 1-1, a pivotal win for Oklahoma City as the series heads to Indianapolis for the next two games.

Gilgeous-Alexander dominated with 34 points, eight assists, and five rebounds. On defense, he had four steals and a block. 

Through the first two games, the 6-foot-6 guard is averaging 36.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 3.5 steals per game. 

Currently, Gilgeous-Alexander leads the Finals in points and steals.

As he continues to prove he’s the best player in the series. Gilgeous-Alexander is making a strong case for Finals MVP, which would be a historic feat, making him the first Thunder and Kentucky player to win the award.

But first, Oklahoma City has to beat the Pacers to claim any trophies despite Gilgeous-Alexander’s standout performances.

Next, the Thunder will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Pacers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

Tying things off at 31-26 on the season, including two postseason victories before their ultimate loss to West Virginia, the Bat Cats put together a respectable resume in the face of consistent shortcomings. Nick Mingione, despite having coached at Proud Park for nearly a decade now, has made the program feel entirely new in the last couple of years.

Looking ahead to the 2025-26 season, he and the team show no signs of stopping their upward trajectory.

The incoming roster’s first building block was one they already had; after this season, it was just a matter of keeping it in place. They did just that with the announcement that recent standouts Tyler Bell, Ben Cleaver, Nate Harris, and Ryan Schwartz are all set to return to Lexington this fall. Off the bat, Mingione immediately retained four core pieces that represent the best of Kentucky’s recent success.

In With the Old AND the New

Even considering the loss of James McCoy, it’d be hard to ask for a much better start following the bumpy, season-long road that culminated in the aforementioned loss to the Mountaineers. On top of the returning talent, the Bat Cats landed a commitment from All-CUSA (Conference USA) transfer Jack Bennett, who spent this past season just up the road at Western Kentucky, as well as ASUN All-Freshman transfer Bryson Treichel, who pitched 74 strikeouts in 61.2 innings last season.

A Paducah native and junior, Bennett tallied a 3.13 ERA in 63.1 innings pitched, holding opposing hitters to a .252 batting average with 49 strikeouts and only 20 walks. He even took to social media to share his excitement in becoming a Wildcat, stating, “Fired up for the next chapter!”

Is it okay to be frustrated with much of how this past season went down? Undoubtedly, yet all the same, Mingione and his staff have clearly put an emphasis on building the program at Proud Park in a consistent upward manner, and this early string of roster news for next year is only more proof of that.

As the Big Blue Nation waits to see all the pieces come together this fall, we’ll keep you updated if, or rather when, anything else goes down. It’s a new era for Baseball in Lexington, and these Bat Cats are building to come back with a vengeance.