Thunder turn up the heat, smoke Indiana

Shai lands blow after blow, silences Pacers

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Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander learned a lesson to open the NBA Finals.

“You can’t just throw the first punch,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. “You've got to throw all the punches all night.”

Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder threw plenty of haymakers, helping Oklahoma City to a 123107 victory to even the best-of-seven series 1-1 going into tomorrow's Game 3 in Indianapolis.

That was a departure from Game 1 last Thursday, when the Thunder led by 15 in the fourth quarter before Indiana came back to win the game 111-110 on a basket in the final second.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way on Sunday for Oklahoma City, scoring 34 with eight assists, five rebounds and four steals and went 11 of 12 on free throws.

There were plenty of areas of improvement from Game 1 for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to point out after the victory.