The Oklahoma City Thunder’s hunger was on full display during their Game 2 win against the Indiana Pacers.
After all, the Oklahoma City Thunder were handed a one-point defeat in the opening game of the 2025 NBA Finals despite being the superior team.
But what did the Thunder do differently in the second game that allowed them to register a dominant 16-point win over the Indiana Pacers? Well, NBA analyst Brian Windhorst has shared his two cents on the same.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesBrian Windhorst says the Oklahoma City Thunder ‘played bigger’ in Game 2
In the modern era, many teams have relied on small ball lineups to become successful. However, the Thunder’s roster construction is more traditional as they have multiple talented big men on the team.
Windhorst believes the Thunder simply remembered they could utilize big lineups against the Pacers, which helped the team register a 123-107 win in Game 2.
“They played bigger. In the first game, they really tried the smaller lineups, tried to match the way the Pacers play. That’s not who the Thunder are,” Windhorst said, via ESPN’s Get Up.
He added: “The Thunder can play big. The Chet Holmgren-Isaiah Hartenstein is such an effective duo. Those guys, when they’re out there together, were devastating.”
The results of awarding extra minutes to their bigs were clearly seen in the finals stats as they outrebounded the Pacers.
Oklahoma City Thunder followed Pat Riley’s mantra, claims Brian Windhorst
To be precise, the Thunder finished the night with 43 rebounds as compared to the Pacers’ 35. Having a +8 differential in rebounds ultimately helped OKC dominate.
In fact, Windhorst went as far as saying that the Thunder followed one of Miami Heat president Pat Riley’s iconic mantras.
“They were -17 in the rebounds in Game 1. They were +8 in Game 2. That’s a 25-rebound differential.
“That calls to mind the Pat Riley creed, ‘No rebounds, no rings,’” Windy continued.
“Well they rebounded last night, and that and a more balanced game from Shai turned the whole situation around,” the ESPN analyst concluded.