Chet Holmgren Says Thunder 'Have to Be Better' in 4Q to Beat Pacers in NBA Finals

Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren wants to see his team run through the tape after a 116-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday put OKC down 2-1 in the 2025 NBA Finals.

"To win games of this magnitude, at this level, we have to be better," Holmgren told reporters in his postgame press conference. "We need to close games, close quarters, close possessions. It doesn't just come down to the end of the game. We got to figure out how to put ourselves in a better position for the whole 48 minutes."

The Thunder squandered a 15-point lead and led by nine with just under three minutes to play in Game 1. In Game 3, Indiana outscored Oklahoma City 32-18 in the final frame.

The Pacers have been great closers all year. Their plus-9.7 net rating in the fourth quarter was the second-best in the regular season, per NBA.com. They also had the highest net rating (plus-20.9) in clutch situations.

The trend has carried over to the postseason, with star guard Tyrese Haliburton hitting big shot after big shot.

The Thunder can't afford to take their foot off the gas when they're up late on Indiana, yet that's exactly what they've done in their two defeats in this series.

Perhaps that's one aspect in which Oklahoma City's dominance in the regular season provided a downside. The Pacers logged 169 minutes in the clutch compared to a league-low 66 for OKC.

As Holmgren said, the Thunder are learning the hard way they have to stay sharp from the opening tip to the final buzzer against Indy.