Why did the away game in the finals become a Thunder Nightmare? Two statistics become its fatal weakness

In the second Oklahoma City Thunder offensive leg of Game 6 Thursday, Alexander fell into danger and dribbled by two Indiana Pacers players who were more ready to compete for the floor. A minute later, they took his ball away without even having to double-team. Andrew Nemhard scored a steal in Alexander's dragging back-to-body single.

This is a dangerous sign that the Thunder played arguably the worst performance of the season at a critical moment when they could reach the top. They had a chance to win the NBA championship. However, they were once 31 points behind and eventually lost 91 to 108.

"In my opinion, we played too badly tonight," Alexander said. "We can learn from our lessons. We only have one game left to decide everything. Decide everything we fight for. So do they."

This is just two of Alexander's eight turnovers, tying his career single-game turnover record. This high-use, low-turnover, and usually extremely keen point guard was recognized as the finals MVP candidate if the team could win Game 84 of the season (that is, win the championship), but that night it was a careless and insufficient focus point guard performance.

His team also followed suit. The Thunder made a total of 21 mistakes in the whole game, setting a new high for their single-game turnovers in any of their 104 games this season.

"We are trying to do too much solo," Caruso said. "They had very active hands and were very aggressive in defense. We just reacted a little slower." The Pacers, who fought back and forth, ran all over the field. The Thunder came with a careless attitude, just to the opponent's thoughts. They wasted enough ball rights and handed over the fast break scores that were enough to ignite a team and the entire arena, which eventually turned the G6 into a Pacers party.

"It's not normal for us to have so many mistakes," Thunder head coach Mark Dignot said. "This led to a quick break losing point. I think it ignited them (Pacers)."

Here is an example: Jaylen Williams grabbed a defensive rebound in the middle of the first quarter. He tried to throw the captain towards the frontcourt. T.J. McConnell was predicted to be in place, jumped high, poked the ball to the sideline, flew to grab the ball before the Thunder player, and then assisted Obi Toppin to hit a big open three-pointer, instantly igniting the audience.

This G6 defeat reminds people of the defeat of G3. Alexander also made six mistakes that night, tying his then-season record (this record was broken on Thursday). The Thunder made 19 turnovers in that game. McConnell stole three out-of-bounds balls, and the Thunder's offense only tried 22 three-point shots.

This has been a problem in the away games of this series, with the three most missed games in the Thunder happening to be three in Indiana. In these three nights, their three-pointers were 10 of 22 shots, 3 of 17 shots, and 8 of 30 shots in this game. This is not only a problem of accuracy (the hit rate is only 30.4%), but also a problem of insufficient shooting.

They averaged only 23 three-pointers in these three away games, while they averaged up to 38.8 in the regular season. In this game, they made only 1 of 11 three-pointers in the first half and failed to create a chance to have a bottom corner three-pointer.

"This (few three-point shots) is really a problem in some games," said Dagnott. "G4 is an example. I remember we only shot 17 (three points) in that game. I think we found some ways in G5. But tonight they (Pacers) did a very good job of our defense. The low shots and low shooting percentage reflect their defensive intensity and our inability to create rhythm." The Thunders returned to home tiebreaking battles and would be absolutely popular, but they were also absolutely popular in G1 but lost. They put themselves in danger again, which is similar to what the Denver series is like. At that time, the Thunder once lagged behind the Nuggets 0-1 and 1-2. After overtaking tenaciously, they were completely lost in G6 and finally survived with a big victory in G7.

"I think the situation is the same," Alexander said. "In the second round (referring to the series against the Nuggets), if we lose, I'll be equally disappointed. We'll go home and the season is over. If we lose (Sunday), the season ends in the wrong way. In either case, I'll be extremely disappointed, so I don't think it's different."

The Thunders beat the Nuggets by 32 points in the tiebreak, and they don't need to repeat the difference, but the outcome of this game will ultimately define whether they succeed or fail the whole season, regardless of winning or losing.

"A game determines everything you dream of," Alexander said. "If you win, you get everything. If you lose, you have nothing. It's that simple."

(text/Mango)