Isaiah Hartenstein Points to 'Controllables' In Thunder Loss

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. The Thunder collapsed down the stretch of the opening game this series and Isaiah Hartenstein dished on what happened.

Jun 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) helps up guard Alex Caruso (9) during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers during game one of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

It was all Thunder, until it wasn't.

Oklahoma City did a great job of controlling the opening game of the 2025 NBA Finals, fending off each Pacers run to keep Indiana at an arms length. After a 10-10 tie in the opening frame, the Thunder ensured its lead hovered around 8-15 points the rest of the game.

Then, the Final quarter starter. The Pacers stopped turning the ball over, started making shots and the Thunder were dead on arrival offensively the entire game. Oklahoma City couldn't buy a bucket down the stretch of this game being out scored in the final frame 35-25.

This was a game Oklahoma City let slip away. Indiana took its first and final lead with 0.3 ticks to go in the contest. It was a 15 point collapse by the Thunder, made even worse by leading by 8 with three minutes to go and still not being able to hold on.

After the game, the frustration can be felt from the Oklahoma City Thunder, including in the locker room where Isaiah Hartenstein explained the loss.

“You hate to lose like that but then you also know it’s your controllables. So it wasn’t like, like, It sounds weird, it wasn’t like they won the game, it felt like we lost the game. There was a lot of things where it was close outs, executing stuff, again, slowing the pace down a little bit too much at the end,” Explained Hartenstein following Game 1

The Oklahoma City Thunder have to bounce back in the second game of the NBA Finals to avoid going down 0-2 which would put nearly a fork in its title chances.