Draymond Green expressed his displeasure at the OKC Thunder after he watched them concede points to a silly play against the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers took a 2-1 advantage with a 116-107 win in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Fans heaped praise on Bennedict Mathurin for his 27-point performance, where he shot 75% from the field.
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Kendrick Perkins had earlier stated that Alex Caruso was the secret weapon to contain Pascal Siakam.
Siakam, however, had a great game as he scored 21 points on 57% shooting from the field, while Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 on the night to ensure the Indiana Pacers won their first game at home in the Finals.
There was another player on the Pacers who impressed off the bench and Draymond Green pointed out two of his plays that showed lack of awareness from the OKC Thunder.
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesGreen points out McConnell’s two steals that came off Thunder’s mistakes
TJ McConnell scored 10 points off the bench in 15 minutes of action.
However, he impressed mostly on the defensive end, stealing the ball five times.
Two of his steals came from Thunder’s inbound passes at vital points in the game.
Green, who is a four-time champion, expressed disappointment towards OKC for letting plays like that happen in the NBA Finals.
“I feel like when I was coming through the NBA Finals and had to win the NBA Finals, and this could be my coach, my coach is the greatest ever, maybe he not, that’s for everybody else to debate.
“TJ McConnell getting a sneak back steal, would never happen,” said Green on his podcast with Baron Davis and Metta World Peace.
He also added: “We are so dialled in on that one thing in this game plan, that there is no way TJ McConnell is going to hop off the guy he’s going to and steal and I watched him get two of those tonight, and I couldn’t believe it.
“This is the NBA Finals, there’s no way you can get this steal in a NBA Finals.”
McConnell is a key player for the Pacers
McConnell has been in the league for a decade and been a vital part of the Pacers ascent into becoming a championship- contending side.
He gives his best on both ends of the floor and brings the energy off the bench for the team.
His 10 points, five assists and five steals made him the first player ever to have these numbers for a bench player in the NBA Finals.
The Pacers have one of the best bench units in the league and McConnell is a big reason behind it.
Siakam even praised Obi Toppin for his contributions in Game 3.
Certainly Mathurin and Toppin consistently score points off the bench for the team
But McConnell picked up the Thunder full court for both of his inbound steals and this shows the dedication he has to win a game.