The Thunder are in the NBA Finals, how soon until the Pacers join them?

It's not an impossible task, but the New York Knicks are nearly cooked

In NBA history, only three teams have overcome a 3-1 deficit in the conference finals

The Indiana Pacers, they're in the driver's seat as they get ready for Game 5 at Madison Square Garden

The biggest reason? Pacers point guard Tyrese Halliburton. His historic triple-double in Game 4, 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, and 0 turnovers

was as close to a knockout punch as it gets without a sweep

He said prior to the game he had to play better, and he backed it up. What he does for an encore will largely determine the outcome of Game 5

I'd rather do really anything else on a basketball court than turn the ball over. But, I mean, there's some games that are good, there's some games that are bad

but I'm just trying to play the right way. And in a time like right now, I don't have time to second-guess my game or anything

All that's out the window. It's about winning. And, you know, I feel like if I can take care of the ball, I put us in the best situation to win

And it's pretty remarkable. But this has become his thing. And, you know, there will be a new statistical category perhaps named after him somewhere down the line

You know, him and Chris Paul, these guys, you know, there aren't a lot of guys

I know Stockton didn turn it over much back when he played High praise from Coach Rick Carlisle But if the Pacers do indeed advance Halliburton could meet his match in Shea Gilgis Alexander The league MVP led Oklahoma City to a blowout win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday

to put the Thunder back in the finals for the first time in 13 years

Gilgis Alexander is averaging 29.8 points per game in the playoffs. But the recipe for success is more team oriented

and the closeout win was a perfect example. We did everything we were supposed to do defensively

We made it tough on our guys we were supposed to make it tough on. And then from there, it felt like it was tough on everybody

but we were clicking on all cylinders as far as what their tendencies are

what our game plan is, how we want to impact the game, how we want to impact the ball

And then from there we were able to just run and have fun and be ourselves offensively

And a be careful what you wish for to whoever matches up against OKC next week

The Thunder are 8-1 at home in the playoffs so far. The average margin of victory in those eight games, an astronomical 29 points

The star power is there for a fantastic finals matchup, but the Thunder, by virtue of their NBA-best 68 regular season wins

will have home court advantage and be a massive favorite to win it all

no matter who the opponent is. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis