Alex Caruso hits Thunder with harsh reality check about Game 1 collapse

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Alex Caruso hits Thunder with harsh reality check about Game 1 collapse

Alex House · ClutchPoints

Fri, Jun 6, 2025 ·

3 min read

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The post Alex Caruso hits Thunder with harsh reality check about Game 1 collapse appeared first on ClutchPoints .

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti acquired 2020 NBA champion Alex Caruso to give his squad a veteran presence and valuable big-game experience.

The 31-year-old guard has validated the lauded executive's faith throughout the season and playoffs, famously taking on Denver Nuggets juggernaut Nikola Jokic on defense and drilling several clutch 3-pointers during this run. But beyond the statistics and poise, OKC covets the wisdom he can provide in defeat.

And boy does that squad need it after a crushing 111-110 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Uncontrollable enthusiasm suffused the Paycom Center at opening tip-off — fans waited 13 years to get back here — but a chilling silence overcame the arena by the time the final buzzer sounded.

Tyrese Haliburton gave the crowd little time to process what just happened, nailing a go-ahead pull-up jump shot with only 0.3 seconds left on the clock.

Indiana gained the lead for the first time all night, and it stuck. The Thunder forced a historic 19 turnovers in the first half, but they could not capitalize on them on the offensive end (11 points off 25 turnovers).

The team led by 15 points a couple minutes into the fourth quarter and were up nine with less than three minutes left, but inefficient shooting and poor 3-point defense enabled the seemingly unbreakable Pacers to snatch victory at the end.

When a young team like Oklahoma City loses in excruciating fashion, it is important that one or multiple individuals assumes damage-control duties in the locker room. Caruso is surely a candidate to fill that role given that he is the senior NBA player of this group. He vocalized the obvious , but it is something the Thunder must acknowledge as they prepare for Game 2.

Alex Caruso and Thunder must quickly learn from heartbreaker

"We lost the game. I thought we played good enough to win," Caruso said, per OKC Thunder Wire's Clemente Almanza, after posting 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting with six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. "We just didn't finish the game."

Besides MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , who dropped a game-high 38 points , OKC could not get into an offensive groove. Chet Holmgren scored only six points in 24 minutes. Jalen Williams was an inefficient 6-of-19 from the floor. The team as a whole shot below 40 percent.

Additionally, the Thunder failed to assert their physicality on the glass, ceding 56 rebounds to Indiana. Sam Presti signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year, $87 million contract last summer, identifying him as the final piece of a championship puzzle. He nearly recorded a double-double but played just 17 minutes.

Both he and Alex Caruso, the organization's other vital offseason acquisition, will likely need to have a big impact on the remainder of the 2025 NBA Finals if this franchise is going to survive Thursday's debacle .

The latter is maintaining perspective , however. The Thunder bounced back after an inexplicable collapse versus the Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals and also shook off an embarrassing loss in the last round against the Minnesota Timberwolves .

"Counts the same as when we lost by 40 in Minnesota — the same as when we lost by two or three to Denver — It's all worth one," Caruso told reporters postgame, per Derek Parker of Oklahoma City Thunder On SI. "Silver lining, but it's a loss. If that doesn't hurt right now, then obviously something's wrong with you."

They can either let this wound fester or use the pain as a potent reminder for when another pivotal moment inevitably presents itself this series. Game 2 is on Sunday night.

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