NBA FINALS: THUNDER VS. PACERS

June 19, 2025

Mark Daigneault

Oklahoma City Thunder

Game 6: Postgame

Indiana Pacers 108, Oklahoma City Thunder 91

Q. A lot did not go for you tonight well. Shai having so many turnovers. What did you see out of him? Why did he kind of seem to get off track tonight?

MARK DAIGNEAULT: Yeah, I think that's the word from our standpoint. First of all, credit Indiana. I thought they obviously earned the win. They outplayed us for most of the 48 minutes. That's the story of the game. They went out there and attacked the game.

From our standpoint, it was uncharacteristic. It was disappointing. It was collective. It wasn't one guy. Just we were not where we needed to be on either end of the floor for much of the game. We have to be a lot better before Game 7.

Q. I think the figure I saw was that the 60 points you had leading into the fourth was the fewest you've had in game all season. What did you feel was lacking on offense? Were there moments you thought you should have capitalized on?

MARK DAIGNEAULT: I mean, I'll look at it. Obviously it was a very poor performance by us. But there's two teams out there. I want to give Indiana credit for the way they defended, the way they competed in the game, the way they played all the way around. They had a lot to do with it.

There was stuff I thought we could have controlled that could have been better. We have to own that. We'll look at it, learn from it, like we always do. Then we got to obviously be much better going into Game 7.

Q. You actually outshot them in the first half. Got beat by 22. Is that a sign you played with no force or no will, whatever the word might be?

MARK DAIGNEAULT: Yeah, I mean, I think obviously the turnovers in the first half, that's uncharacteristic for us to turn it over like that. That led to fast break points. I thought that's what ignited them. A lot of it was an offensive issue tonight, especially in the first half. I thought we were really stagnant. I thought some of that, like I said, was the way Indiana played. They deserve a lot of credit for it.

We'll look at it, learn from it, figure out what we have to do to be better, and have to go out and execute in Game 7.

Q. I know you and your players know this, but is it in any way instructive to them, being a young team that has never had a chance to clinch a championship before, how hard it is to win a fourth game to win an NBA championship?

MARK DAIGNEAULT: It was hard tonight. Indiana was great and we were not. We have the same opportunity Indiana does on Sunday. Score will be 0-0 when the ball goes up in the air.

It's a privilege to play in Game 7s. It's a privilege to play in the Finals.

As disappointing as tonight was, we're grateful for the opportunity. We put in a lot of work this season to be able to play that game at home, which is exciting to be able to do it in front of our fans.

Obviously disappointed tonight. But we'll regroup, get back to zero, learn from it with clear eyes, like we always do. Get ourselves as ready as we can be to play Game 7 on Sunday.

Q. When Indiana was going on kind of an extended run after you took an early lead in the first quarter, looked like there were moments when you could have called a timeout. Was that you waiting for your guys to show something or didn't want to give into the crowd, what Indy was doing?

MARK DAIGNEAULT: I mean, the timeout thing is an art. I used five of them before the seven-minute mark of the third. So you don't get an unlimited number. We have to have the ability to play through some things.

I tried to stop the play when I could. But all the way around, we just weren't where we needed to be tonight. Our ability to course correct in games is important. We've done that well. We have to do that in these games. It's a 48-minute game.

Q. I think you were 1 of 11 from three in the first half. I'm not sure you even had a corner three. That's happened a few times in this series. How concerning is not only the lack of accuracy but also the volume of threes?

MARK DAIGNEAULT: Yeah, it's definitely been an issue in some of these games. Game 4 comes to mind. I think we got 17 in that game. I thought we found some things in Game 5. I thought they did a really good job on us tonight. I thought the low volume and the accuracy was reflective of the way they guarded us and our inability to create a rhythm against that the way we've been able to do in some of the other games.

We'll look at it, learn from it. We obviously have to be a lot better on Sunday if we want to win the game.

Q. The beginning of the second half offensively, 0-5 from three, what did you see go wrong in the sense of your offense throughout the second half?

MARK DAIGNEAULT: Yeah, I mean, as disappointing as the first half was, the game is in striking distance at that point if you come out and throw the first punch. We strung together some stops. I think it was 2-0 at the first timeout. It wasn't a defensive issue.

I thought the offense all night was a click slow. Again, Indiana played great. They deserved to win. They had a lot to do with that. Not discrediting them at all. We also have to look in the mirror, learn from the game, be a lot better on Sunday.