Thunder Journal: Game 2 Bolts

ICYMI: The Thunder won Game 2 in convincing fashion, evening the 2025 NBA Finals 1-1 and inching closer to a title. Brandon Rahbar is covering the series

Thunder steady series 1-1 in win over Pacers

OKC 123 IND 107 (Finals tied 1-1) That’s more like it. Indiana still has home court advantage, but the Thunder evened the Finals 1-1 and looked like the better team regaining its footing after Game 1’s gut wrenching finish. Next up: Stay tuned for more Game 2 and Finals coverage

Daily ThunderDaily Thunder Staff

BRANDON'S BOLTS

The best and worst Thunder action from @brandonrahbar's notebook.

First off, I’d like to personally welcome back all the Thunder fans who weren’t able to consume any content or listen to any podcasts between Game 1 and Game 2. Good to have you back!

• We are now one day removed from Game 2 and the scoreboard still says OKC is up 123-107. I think it’s safe to finally exhale, Thunder fans. The Pacers aren’t coming back this time.
• OKC discovered an infallible way of guaranteeing Tyrese Haliburton can’t hit a game winner: be ahead by 16 points with .3 seconds to go.
• SGA put on a masterful two way performance. 34 points on 11-21 shooting with 8 assists and only 2 turnovers on one end. Four steals and a block on the other end.
• Dating back to last year, SGA has been the best player in every Thunder playoff series. He has outplayed Anthony Edwards, Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant*, Luka Doncic and Brandon Ingram. And he is clearly outplaying Tyrese Haliburton through two games.

• Jalen Williams does so much for this team that goes beyond just scoring. JDub’s consistent playmaking, rebounding and elite defensive versatility are essential to OKC’s success. So I was in the minority who thought JDub had a solid Game 1 outside of just not making shots. Game 2, he once again stuffed the stat sheet and had a big impact. And JDub’s aggressiveness led to a busy night at the free throw line and a bounce back in scoring efficiency.
• Chet Holmgren dominated the first quarter with 9 points on 4-5 shooting and 1-1 from 3. He was a big toenail away from 10 points and 2-2 from 3. Chet only scored 6 points the rest of the game, but he was a force all night defensively, shutting off the rim and switching effortlessly on Pacers perimeter players. Big bounce back from Chet.
• Shai said it in the post-game and I co-sign: Loud City somehow keeps getting Louder City.
• SGA: “[The] crowd has found a way to get louder each game, I don’t know how they do it. It’s special to be able to play in front of them... They’re special. The best fans in the world.”
• One last note to hammer home the point of how loud Thunder fans were last night: a Brazilian reporter told SGA this was the closest he’s ever seen a fan atmosphere coming to a South American soccer crowd. Huge compliment.

Thanks to the support of our readers and the hustle of Daily Thunder contributors, we have a beat reporter covering each Finals game along with the swarm of national media. Watch for Brandon Rahbar on Twitter, DailyThunder.com, and as a guest for friends of the site. We are an independent, fan-fueled blog without the resources of a mega corporation at our back, and we sincerely thank you for supporting Daily Thunder. If you haven't before, please consider becoming a subscriber so that we can continue to cover the team and keep the lights on.

• It had to be incredibly satisfying for Thunder fans to know that fans all across the globe were finally able to witness the Aaron Wiggins meme come to life in real time during the NBA Finals.