OKC and Pacers eye first NBA titles

Haliburton aiming to shock Shai, Thunder

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Powered by young star talent and deep rosters, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers open the NBA Finals tomorrow morning (Thai time), each trying to bring their city a first-ever crown.

Oklahoma City, fancied by odds-makers after an NBA-high 68 regular-season wins, will host game one in the best-of-seven championship series.

Both teams are fast-paced squads with young star point guards, 26-year-old NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder and Indiana's 25-year-old Tyrese Haliburton.

The Pacers seek the first NBA crown in their 58-year history while the Thunder, who moved from Seattle in 2008, took the franchise’s only title as the SuperSonics in 1979.

“It’s a new blueprint for the league,” Pacers centre Myles Turner said. “The years of the superteams and stacking, it's not as effective as it once was.

“The new trend now is kind of what we're doing. OKC does the same thing. Young guys, get out and run, defend and use the power of friendship.”

Oklahoma City’s only prior NBA Finals appearance was in 2012, when Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook lost to LeBron James-led Miami.