Fueled by another impressive effort from T.J. McConnell off the bench, the Indiana Pacers forced a Game 7 in the NBA Finals with Thursday night’s 108-91 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. McConnell scored 12 points, pulled down nine rebounds and contributed four steals to continue wearing the cape of unsung hero this series for a franchise one win away from their first NBA title.
McConnell’s father, Tim McConnell, interrupted a live interview on NBA TV after the game and was giddy with excitement following his son’s performance.
“I’ll tell you right now, he’s a warrior, it’s never how tall you are,” McConnell’s father said. “[His performance] was excellent. Just disappointed he missed those two foul shots in the beginning. I kept saying, ‘Man, I wish you would’ve made those two foul shots.’ But, he recovered and we won the game.
“I can forget about the foul shots. Anything can happen in Game 7,” he continued. “We’re going to OKC to try and win a world championship. My son’s a part of it and I can’t believe that.”
Hardwood talent runs in the family, too. McConnell’s sister, Megan McConnell, starred at Duquesne and is playing her rookie season with the Phoenix Mercury.
“I can’t be more proud to say that I have a son in the NBA and I have a daughter in the WNBA,” Tim McConnell said. “This is a dream come true and I’m going to OKC for my son to play in the championship game.”
Tyrese Haliburton called McConnell the Pacers’ “secret weapon” after the victory and said his nickname inside the locker room was the “Great White Hope” following another impactful outing.
Sunday’s series-deciding Game 7 is set for 8 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City.
Haliburton said the Pacers will quickly flush this one to focus on the final opportunity to bring a title back to Indiana.
“The narratives are going to be almost poison,” Haliburton said. “To talk about what this would mean to our city and our organization and legacy talk, and we played so well and now the pressure is on (the Thunder) … there’s going to be narratives that we can’t really pay attention to.
“We’ve got to control what we can. So much of these games has come down to who is going to start the fight from a physicality standpoint, take care of the ball better and rebound the ball better. Those are the important things that we need to focus on.”
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