John Schuhmann

1 week ago | nba.com | John Schuhmann

Download the NBA App2025 NBA playoffs scheduleNBA playoffs: Bracket & complete coverageOKLAHOMA CITY — It took five games, but we finally got some transition offense in the NBA Finals. Through the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Indiana Pacers (25.8) and Oklahoma City Thunder (25.3) ranked first and second in transition points per game, per Synergy tracking. But through the first four games of the Finals, neither team had been able to run nearly as much as they had in getting here.

1 week ago | nba.com | John Schuhmann

Download the NBA App2025 NBA playoffs scheduleNBA playoffs: Bracket & complete coverageDesperate times call for desperate measures. And sometimes, a team will do something in the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals game that it hasn’t done much of all year. That was the case on Friday, when the Oklahoma City Thunder made a big adjustment, turning to a little-used action to, perhaps, save their season.

2 weeks ago | nba.com | John Schuhmann

Download the NBA App2025 NBA playoffs scheduleNBA playoffs: Bracket & complete coverageINDIANAPOLIS — You don’t have to be the best defensive team in the league to win the NBA championship. However, even the best offensive teams need to achieve some level of success on defense to win four playoff series. The 2022-23 Denver Nuggets ranked 15th defensively in the regular season but saved their best (on that end of the floor) for the playoffs.

2 weeks ago | nba.com | John Schuhmann

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Indiana Pacers scored just as efficiently in Game 2 of the NBA Finals as they did in Game 1. The difference was on defense, where the Pacers couldn’t stop Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (34 points and eight assists) and the Oklahoma City Thunder. For the second straight game, the Pacers recovered from an ugly first half and found their offense in the third and fourth quarters. However, they couldn’t get the necessary stops to make things interesting.

3 weeks ago | nba.com | John Schuhmann

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Indiana Pacers did it again. But this time, they did it against the best defense in the league. The Pacers’ offense vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder defense was the featured battle in the NBA Finals, and it was a battle that the Pacers won as they came back from 15 points down early in the fourth quarter to steal Game 1 on Thursday.