Basketball Intelligence For 6/9/25
The day's best news and reporting
NBA FINALS
The Thunder Clap Back
Evan and Aaron give their immediate reactions to a very assertive Oklahoma City game 2 victory.
How to tie a series
Kelly Dwyer, Kelly Dwyer On Hoops
These teams have no choice but to love each other: Kenrich Williams was perhaps Game 2's most productive player, a +15 in 7:38. The Pacers feel as if they're full of Kenrich Williamses, and OKC knows what Williams did in Game 2 (meeting the ball in moments of confusion, quick drives and extra passes, moving feet and 100 percent dedication to 50-50 balls) was no fluke. No reserve novelty.
After Williams left, the Thunder relaxed, realized they didn't need Kenrich Williams to win, they only needed him for that 19-2 run. Prior to this, each team was bobbling their one-on-one moves before they'd even had a chance to try them, thinking two steps ahead of the moment, discarnate doinks for turnovers.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are better than your team and you know it
Matt Moore, Fansided
Caruso, Wiggins, Thunder bench sparks run that tied NBA Finals at 1-1
Kurt Helin, NBC Sports
Thunder flex their depth around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They’ll need that to continue
Anthony Slater, The Athletic
Veteran, rookie: Pacers’ Myles Turner, Thunder’s Ajay Mitchell not taking NBA Finals for granted
William C. Rhoden, Andscape
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won’t try to ‘reinvent the wheel’ but he’s rewriting NBA Finals history
Sam Amick, The Athletic
Three Things I Noticed in Game 2
Jared Dubin, Last Night, In Basketball
Game 2 Observations from the NBA Finals: Thunder vs. Pacers
Iztok Franco, Diggin Basketball
Pacers an 'acquired taste.' In Game 2, OKC Thunder swallowed Indiana up to even NBA Finals
Jeff Zillgitt, USA Today
Pacers vs. Thunder NBA Finals: Yep, this is the OKC team that is trying to put a bow on a historic season
Dan Devine, Yahoo! Sports
NBA Finals: Pacers have one simple path to upsetting Thunder, and the math didn't add up in Game 2
Brad Notkin, CBS Sports
Indiana has to win the 3-point battle because OKC is better everywhere else on the floor. They're bigger. They have the best one-on-one creator certainly in the series and possibly in the world. They have one of the best defenses in history. There's a reason almost nobody picked the Pacers to win this series, and why many of us didn't even think they could get more than one win.
Thunder-struck: No miracle comeback this time as OKC buries Pacers in Game 2
Zach Osterman, Indianaoplis Star
Gilgeous-Alexander plays 'the game the right way' as Thunder tie up NBA Finals
Michael grange, Sportsnet
Remaining NBA Finals, Leaguewide, Team News, NBA Draft, and WNBA for paid subscribers