MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
It's said that the best two words in sports are Game 7, and we get to say those words today because the NBA finals are headed to a winner-take-all finale for the first time in nearly a decade, after the Indiana Pacers crushed the Oklahoma City Thunder last night. Here to talk about it is NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan. Becky, good morning.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: Becky, I'm so jealous because I'm one of those unfortunates whose power went out in those thunderstorms...
SULLIVAN: Oh, no.
MARTIN: ...That we've all heard about. So I had to read about it. The final score, 108-91. And I was reading that the final score makes it seem closer than the game was.
SULLIVAN: Yes.
MARTIN: Tell me about it.
SULLIVAN: Yes, absolutely. This was a pretty thorough domination by the Pacers. The game was in Indiana. So you had all these, like, famous Pacers of the past, like Reggie Miller, lining the sidelines, cheering this team on. Obviously, 17,000 screaming Indiana fans, all dressed in yellow. And going into this, Oklahoma City was up three games to two. Indiana had to win to keep their hopes alive. And when they did, sometime in the second quarter, they just turned it on, and the game essentially was over. They were up 30 points to start the fourth quarter. So to give you a sense about that final score...
MARTIN: Wow.
SULLIVAN: ...A final margin of just 17. But yeah.
MARTIN: OK.
SULLIVAN: What a showing.
MARTIN: OK, now, I'm really filled with rage and envy. But - OK. But surprising - right? - a little bit because OKC was the favorite, right?
SULLIVAN: Yeah, both in this game and in this series. I mean, they were the best team of the regular season, by far. I think most people expected them to win a title, no matter who their opponent was. But this is Pacers basketball. This is exactly what they do. They're relentless. They play energetic defense. Turnovers. They wear you down. They don't go away easy, especially over the course of a long series like this.
And then also in this game, I think a lot had been made of the status of Pacers' star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who strained his calf in Game 5. He was clearly affected by it in that game, and so there were, theoretically, some questions about whether he'd play. But, look, that's the kind of injury where, if it's November, sure, he'll sit out for a week or two. But this is the NBA finals. Haliburton is 25, but it's hard to reach the finals. It's possible this is his only shot at a title in his whole career. So obviously, no surprise he played. He had a modest game - 14 points, five assists - but his presence on the court clearly galvanized his teammates. And, yeah, they just rocked them.
MARTIN: So - but it's been this up-and-down series. So I think, you know, that is - that's been exciting. Every time when you think it's over...
SULLIVAN: It has.
MARTIN: ...It's not over.
SULLIVAN: Totally.
MARTIN: But yet, ratings are down for this series. Why is that?
SULLIVAN: Yeah, you're right. At least through the first five games - that's how many games there were last year - down around 20%. So it's hard to say exactly why 'cause as you say, it's been thrilling and competitive, I think. Both teams are small markets. That could be part of it - Indianapolis and Oklahoma City. Obviously, if you have, like, a team, like the New York Knicks, like we saw in the conference finals, you get the celebrities on the sideline - Timothee Chalamet, Spike Lee. A little more media attention, maybe. Lots of chatter, too.
This final is about what it means to be, like, a superstar player and whether either of these teams has one. You've got Haliburton on the Pacers. The Thunder have the league's most valuable player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But are they household names? People are just watching less TV, generally. Lots of variables. Hard to say exactly what's going on, but a Game 7, I think, obviously, is great for fans. Great for ratings.
MARTIN: OK, so give us a preview of Game 7.
SULLIVAN: Well, it's going to be Sunday night. Last night, the teams were in Indiana, as I said, so that means, of course, this one will be back in Oklahoma City. And that's important because 19 times, in NBA history, the finals have gone to seven games. Fifteen of those times, the home team won. Still, both of these teams, as we've been talking about, are capable of a comeback. And neither Oklahoma City nor Indiana has ever won an NBA title before. This would be their first. So for both teams, the stakes couldn't be higher.
MARTIN: All right, that is NPR's Becky Sullivan. Becky, thank you.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF TONERS' "NBA THE FINALS THEME (NBA PLAYOFF THEME)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
