\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe book is called \u201cThe Obstacle Is the Way.\u201d It\u2019s a gift that Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault gave to Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein during a trying time this season, knowing the voracious reader would figure out the meaning.>> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5\u2019s YouTube channelMessage delivered.\u201cI read it and remembered that everything happens for a reason,\u201d Hartenstein said. \u201cAnd after that, everything worked out great.\u201dSuch has been the story of the Thunder season. Such was the story of Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Faced with the biggest challenge of their season \u2014 a 10-point deficit in the second half, staring at a very real chance of the Indiana Pacers grabbing the almost-insurmountable 3-1 lead in the title round \u2014 the Thunder, once again, came away saying everything worked out great.Led by a dazzling and frantic finish from the reigning MVP and scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander \u2014 who had 15 of his 35 points in the final five minutes or so \u2014 the Thunder rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Indiana 111-104 on Friday night. The series is now tied 2-2, heading back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Monday night, and it\u2019s the Thunder who have home-court advantage again.\u201cThat was an uphill game against a great team,\u201d Daigneault said after Game 4 in Indianapolis, simultaneously lauding his team while also raving about the Pacers. \u201cThis is one of the best teams in the league in the last couple months, since All-Star break. They\u2019re a hard team to beat here. They\u2019re a hard team to beat, period. I thought we gutted it out on a night when we didn\u2019t have a lot going, especially offensively.\u201dIt was a night when the Thunder made only three 3-pointers and were shooting 45% with about five minutes left before Gilgeous-Alexander got going. He took 11 shots in the final 4:40 \u2014 three field-goal attempts, one of them a 3-point try, and eight free throws \u2014 and made them all. A perfect finish, on a night when little had gone to plan.\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d Daigneault said. \u201cHe really didn\u2019t have it going a lot of the night. He was laboring. We had a hard time shaking him free. For him to be able to flip the switch like that and get the rhythm he got just speaks to how great of a player he is.It might not have seemed so to the outside world \u2014 those who fixated on things like Oklahoma City\u2019s 68-14 franchise-best record, its 16-game lead over its nearest challenger in the Western Conference standings, a record number of double-digit wins and how all of it was led by the MVP and scoring champion in Gilgeous-Alexander. But the Thunder did, in fact, face some adversity this season.They played without Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein for a while during the year. There was some flux to the lineup at times. Everybody probably had some sort of mini-slump along the way. There was a Game 1 loss in the second round to Denver. And Daigneault embraced every bit of that pain, knowing that for the Thunder to get to where they want to go adversity was going to present itself.Like the being-down-10, late-third-quarter sort of adversity that came up in Game 4.Just like Hartenstein was led to believe by the book, everything worked out great.\u201cWe haven\u2019t really had to show it a lot this year, with the success we had in the regular season,\u201d guard Jalen Williams said shortly before the team left for the flight back to Oklahoma City, where a huge crowd showed up in the middle of the night to greet the team at the airport \u2014 as they often do. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of ups and downs during the playoffs. We\u2019ve just learned from those experiences. That is something Mark is really big on; every game you should be able to learn, then the next game you should be able to apply something and get better at it. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do every time.\u201dThe series is far from over and the Thunder know it. Indiana already has won once at Oklahoma City in these finals; surely, the Pacers think they can do it again. And even though the teams finished 18 wins apart in the final standings \u2014 OKC won 68 times, Indiana won 50 \u2014 it doesn\u2019t seem like 18 wins worth of disparity between the clubs right now.Indiana stole Game 1 at the end. Oklahoma City stole Game 4 at the end, albeit not as dramatically as the Pacers took the opener. Game 2 was pretty much controlled by the Thunder throughout; the Pacers had the best of the play for the majority of Game 3.Add it up, and it looks exactly like what it is \u2014 a 2-2 series going into Game 5.Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.\u201cI still feel like we have so much work to do,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cHalfway there, obviously, but still so far from the finish line.\u201dTrue, but two more efforts like this, and everything will work out great. Just like the book says.More Thunder HeadlinesThunder NBA Finals: Tickets, schedule and what to knowNBA Finals Tickets: See how much Thunder tickets costLIVE BLOG: Thunder and Pacers set for Game 4 of NBA FinalsSports bars and restaurants to watch OKC Thunder in NBA FinalsPacers fans test their Thunder knowledge in Indianapolis\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The book is called \u201cThe Obstacle Is the Way.\u201d It\u2019s a gift that Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault gave to Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein during a trying time this season, knowing the voracious reader would figure out the meaning.<\/p>\n
>> Download the KOCO 5 app<\/a> | Subscribe to KOCO 5\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a><\/p>\n Message delivered.<\/p>\n \u201cI read it and remembered that everything happens for a reason,\u201d Hartenstein said. \u201cAnd after that, everything worked out great.\u201d<\/p>\n Such has been the story of the Thunder season. Such was the story of Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Faced with the biggest challenge of their season \u2014 a 10-point deficit in the second half, staring at a very real chance of the Indiana Pacers grabbing the almost-insurmountable 3-1 lead in the title round \u2014 the Thunder, once again, came away saying everything worked out great.<\/p>\n Led by a dazzling and frantic finish from the reigning MVP and scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander \u2014 who had 15 of his 35 points in the final five minutes or so \u2014 the Thunder rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Indiana 111-104 on Friday night. The series is now tied 2-2, heading back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Monday night, and it\u2019s the Thunder who have home-court advantage again.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was an uphill game against a great team,\u201d Daigneault said after Game 4 in Indianapolis, simultaneously lauding his team while also raving about the Pacers. \u201cThis is one of the best teams in the league in the last couple months, since All-Star break. They\u2019re a hard team to beat here. They\u2019re a hard team to beat, period. I thought we gutted it out on a night when we didn\u2019t have a lot going, especially offensively.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a night when the Thunder made only three 3-pointers and were shooting 45% with about five minutes left before Gilgeous-Alexander got going. He took 11 shots in the final 4:40 \u2014 three field-goal attempts, one of them a 3-point try, and eight free throws \u2014 and made them all. A perfect finish, on a night when little had gone to plan.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d Daigneault said. \u201cHe really didn\u2019t have it going a lot of the night. He was laboring. We had a hard time shaking him free. For him to be able to flip the switch like that and get the rhythm he got just speaks to how great of a player he is.<\/p>\n It might not have seemed so to the outside world \u2014 those who fixated on things like Oklahoma City\u2019s 68-14 franchise-best record, its 16-game lead over its nearest challenger in the Western Conference standings, a record number of double-digit wins and how all of it was led by the MVP and scoring champion in Gilgeous-Alexander. But the Thunder did, in fact, face some adversity this season.<\/p>\n They played without Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein for a while during the year. There was some flux to the lineup at times. Everybody probably had some sort of mini-slump along the way. There was a Game 1 loss in the second round to Denver. And Daigneault embraced every bit of that pain, knowing that for the Thunder to get to where they want to go adversity was going to present itself.<\/p>\n Like the being-down-10, late-third-quarter sort of adversity that came up in Game 4.<\/p>\n Just like Hartenstein was led to believe by the book, everything worked out great.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t really had to show it a lot this year, with the success we had in the regular season,\u201d guard Jalen Williams said shortly before the team left for the flight back to Oklahoma City, where a huge crowd showed up in the middle of the night to greet the team at the airport \u2014 as they often do. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of ups and downs during the playoffs. We\u2019ve just learned from those experiences. That is something Mark is really big on; every game you should be able to learn, then the next game you should be able to apply something and get better at it. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do every time.\u201d<\/p>\n The series is far from over and the Thunder know it. Indiana already has won once at Oklahoma City in these finals; surely, the Pacers think they can do it again. And even though the teams finished 18 wins apart in the final standings \u2014 OKC won 68 times, Indiana won 50 \u2014 it doesn\u2019t seem like 18 wins worth of disparity between the clubs right now.<\/p>\n Indiana stole Game 1 at the end. Oklahoma City stole Game 4 at the end, albeit not as dramatically as the Pacers took the opener. Game 2 was pretty much controlled by the Thunder throughout; the Pacers had the best of the play for the majority of Game 3.<\/p>\n Add it up, and it looks exactly like what it is \u2014 a 2-2 series going into Game 5.<\/p>\n