Thunder blame ‘unforced errors’ in Game 3 loss to Pacers

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jalen Williams reckons unforced errors led to their team’s downfall after the Game 3 loss against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. The Thunder were outscored by 32-18 in the fourth quarter and also squandered their five-point lead.

With this win, the Pacers take a 2-1 lead in the seven-match NBA Finals series.

“We just had a lot of unforced errors,” Williams said after Oklahoma City’s 116-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Wednesday’s pivotal Game 3 of the NBA Finals. “They capitalized on them because they’re a good team.”

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault admitted they got outplayed in the final frame by the opposition.

“In the fourth quarter, I just thought they really outplayed us on both ends,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought they were in character in terms of their physicality, their pressure on defense. Then they were in character in terms of their pace on offense.”

Oklahoma City center forward Chet Holmgren said they need to move on and be better for the fourth game of the series.

“We have a great opportunity here,” said Oklahoma City center/power forward Chet Holmgren, who scored 20 points but struggled in the fourth quarter, said.

“The great thing is we have another game coming up, Game 4. We can’t be thinking about frustration or anything. No matter how good it’s going, how bad it’s going, the focus can’t be on your emotions. It has to be on what we’re trying to accomplish, the task at hand.”

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting but he showered praise on the opposition.

“They were aggressive,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Pacers’ defense. “They were heavy in the crowd. I’m not sure how many points they had, but it felt like when they scored, we’re going against a set defense, and it’s always harder against a set defense.”

Game 4 of the series is in Indianapolis on Friday night.