Game 4 of the NBA Finals was an excellent one. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers traded blows for four quarters in the pivotal contest. It was filled with great shots and electric moments with the fans filling Gainbridge Fieldhouse going absolutely wild for their team. But at the end, the Thunder were left standing.
In winning Game 4, 111-104, OKC evened up the series at 2-2 as the Finals shift back to OKC for Game 5. They had their backs against the wall but found enough life in the second half to avoid going down 3-1 to the Pacers.
Pascal Siakam got the fun started in Indy, playing a stellar first half to give the Pacers a slight edge; he'd finish with 20 points and five steals. Then it was Obi Toppin's time. The bouncy reserve hit multiple massive three-pointers to go along with a few marquee dunks en route to a 17-point night on 7-of-12 shooting.
However, Jalen Williams kept the Thunder in the game with a steady diet of trips to the charity stripe, finishing with 27 points and hitting all 11 of his free throw attempts. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled, by the standards of the MVP; he put up fine scoring numbers on decent efficiency but was clearly having a tough time getting separation on Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard. When it was time to win, though, SGA stepped up. He scored 15 points in the final five minutes to give the Thunder the win and finished with 35 points on 50% shooting from the field.
It's an incredibly painful loss for the Pacers. They were in control for pretty much the entire game and completely fell apart in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. A nearly insurmountable 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals slipped through their fingers and now the series is tied at 2-2 heading back to Oklahoma City.
Another great game in a series full of them this NBA Finals. Game 5 is set for Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Comes Up Big in Fourth Quarter as Thunder Tie Up NBA Finals.