The Oklahoma City Thunder Hunger was on display completely during Game 2 victory against the Indiana Pacers.
After all, the Oklahoma City Thunder, despite being a good team, ended up with a one-point loss in the opening game of the 2025 NBA Finals.
But what did the Thunder do in the second game where they could register a dominant 16-point victory over the Indiana Pacers? Now, NBA analyst Brian Windhorst shares two cents on the same cent.
In modern times, many teams rely on a small ball lineup to succeed. However, the structure of the Thunder roster is more traditional as there are large men with multiple talents on the team.
Windhorst believes that Thunder simply remembers that he has a big lineup against the Pacers, helping the team register a 123-107 victory in Game 2.
“They played bigger. In the first game, they tried out a really small lineup and tried to match the way the pacers played. It’s not who the lightning is,” said Windhorst, who was getting up at ESPN.
He added: “Thunder can play big. Chet Holmgren Isaiah Hartenstein is a very effective duo. They were devastating when they were together.”
The results of awarding their big extras were clearly seen in the final statistics as they overtook the Pacer.
To be precise, the Thunder finished the night with 43 rebounds compared to the Pacers’ 35. A +8 difference in rebound helped OKC ultimately dominate.
In fact, Windhorst went as far as he says it follows one of Miami Heat’s iconic mantras.
“They were -17 on Game 1 rebounds. They were +8 in Game 2. That’s a 25 difference.
“It calls for a reminder of Pat Riley Creed, ‘rebound, no rings,'” Windy continued.
“Well, they rebounded last night, and that and a more balanced game from Shy changed the whole situation,” ESPN analyst concluded.