Game 4 last night was a must-win outing for OKC. Had they gone 3-1 down, the Pacers faithful would likely have begun celebrating a first-ever NBA title. But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with his 35 points and the help of his team, of course, made sure that didn’t happen. As far as experts were concerned, that’s what a superstar does.
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Charles Barkley couldn’t help but point that out, as he called out Indiana for throwing away a game that they led by nearly double digits at points in the fourth quarter.
Barkley argued that the Pacers threw the game away. They were leading by 10 earlier in the third quarter, before a 12-1 run in the final few minutes turned the game around and potentially the series. According to the former Suns star, those crucial minutes marked a clear distinction between “good All-Star” players and bona fide “superstars”.
“I thought you saw the difference between All-Star guys and really good players, and a superstar,” Chuck said. “Shai brought this thing home. They’re like ‘Yo big fella, bring us home’ and I had no idea what the Pacers were doing on the offensive end.”
Barkley was also baffled at how the Pacers were struggling to get the ball to Pascal Siakam, who he feels is the best 1v1 player on the team. “They didn’t even run a play for him, they had other guys trying to make plays….”
The first thought that came to the minds of many, including Barkley, was how this defeat could hurt the Pacers moving on to Game 5 in OKC. “We can say all we want about Oklahoma City, but the Pacers blew this game…. This is going to hurt. This game going to hurt the Pacers cause they had this game under control.”
Given how well the Thunder have been playing, beating them there won’t be easy. Barkley admitted he felt that whoever won Game 4 would go on to win the series — and if that holds true, get the champagne ready, Oklahoma.
