TheNBA Finalsare set: It's the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers clinched their trip with awin over the New York Knickson Saturday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Thunder swept the two head-to-head meetings between the clubs this season. Game 1 of the finals is Thursday night in Oklahoma City. Recapping the OKC-Indiana series — Dec. 26: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 45 points and the Thunder erase an early double-digit deficit, pulling away in the second half to beat the Pacers 120-114. Andrew Nembhard scores 23 for Indiana, while Tyrese Haliburton is held to four points. — March 29: Gilgeous-Alexander scores 33 and the Thunder win 132-111. Haliburton leads the Pacers with 18, and both teams have six players finish in double figures. SGA is the MVP A recap of Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's winning of the NBA MVP award. The story:Gilgeous-Alexander tops Jokic for MVP award The reaction:SGA tears up when talking about his wife Steve Nash speaks:Canada's 1st MVP thrilled to see SGA follow him The notebook:Jokic finishes top-2 again, Giannis' streak ends, LeBron gets votes Betting odds Oklahoma City (-700) is a big favorite to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Indiana's odds are set at +500. The Thunder are an early 9.5-point favorite over Indiana for Game 1. NBA Finals schedule All games of the NBA Finals will be aired on ABC. June 5 — Game 1, Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m. EDT June 8 — Game 2, Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. EDT June 11 — Game 3, Oklahoma City at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. EDT June 13 — Game 4, Oklahoma City at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. EDT June 16 — Game 5, Indiana at Oklahoma City, if necessary, 8:30 p.m. EDT June 19 — Game 6, Oklahoma City at Indiana, if necessary, 8:30 p.m. EDT June 22 — Game 7, Indiana at Oklahoma City, if necessary, 8 p.m. EDT (And good news: No NBA Finals games conflict with Stanley Cup Final dates!) Key upcoming events June 25 — NBA draft, first round. June 26 — NBA draft, second round. Stats of the day — Indiana is the only team yet to face elimination in these playoffs. — This is the second time a No. 1 seed (Oklahoma City) has met a No. 4 seed (Indiana) in the NBA Finals. Both previous times were Lakers-Celtics matchups, one in 2010 and the other in 1969. Both went seven games, both saw the Lakers as the No. 1 seed out of the Western Conference (or division, as they were called in 1969), the Celtics won in 1969 (Bill Russell's final game as a player and 11th championship) and the Lakers won in 2010 (Kobe Bryant's fifth and final title). Quote of the day "We've got our work cut out for us." — Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. ___ AP NBA:https://apnews.com/nba
