The Oklahoma City Thunder capped an extraordinary season by defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to win the franchise's first title since relocating from Seattle in 2008.
According to Reuters, league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the scoring in front of a raucous home crowd at Oklahoma City's Paycom Center with 29 points and 12 assists.
He was also crowned the best player of the Finals, marking the first time since Shaquille O'Neal in 2002 that the same player had won the scoring title, regular season and Finals MVP honors.
According to Reuters, the Pacers suffered a huge blow early on when they lost star point guard Tyrese Haliburton midway through the first quarter with an Achilles injury and saw their title hopes dashed by a stifling Oklahoma City defense in the second half.
"It doesn't feel real," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "So many hours, so many moments, so many emotions, so many nights of disbelief, so many nights of belief.
"This group works hard. This group put in the hours and we deserve this," he added.
The championship capped an extraordinary run for the Thunder, who ended the regular season with a 68-14 record, good for the fifth-most wins in a single NBA season.
