The Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA championship over the Indiana Pacers, 103-91, running away with Game 7 of the NBA Finals on their home court in exciting fashion.

The last time this franchise won an NBA title was 1979, when they were still known as the Seattle Supersonics. Since relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008 and rebranding as the Thunder, they have not won a title until Sunday night.

League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates made sure to change that on Sunday night, as their dominant regular season and NBA Playoffs run was capped in the best way possible in a do-or-die Game 7. 

It was the first Game 7 since the historic Cleveland Cavaliers’ comeback against the Golden State Warriors in 2016 when they were down 3-1 in the series. Unlike that matchup, this series between the Thunder and Pacers has gone back and forth in thrilling fashion.

That’s exactly how this game began, too, with each team trading blows on the offensive end. But the Pacers suffered a devastating blow in the first quarter.

Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana’s hero through the postseason, suffered an Achilles injury after pouring in three of his fourth three-point attempts to total nine points early on. 

PACERS LOSE TYRESE HALIBURTON TO NIGHTMARE LEG INJURY IN NBA FINALS GAME 7 MATCHUP VS THUNDER

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) holds the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy as he celebrates with his team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City.  (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

It was initially believed to be a reaggravation of his calf injury that was suffered in Game 5, but his father, John, told ESPN’s Lisa Salters that it was an Achilles. While John Haliburton said his son was in good spirits, he was quickly deemed unable to return for the remainder of the game. 

The Pacers’ depth, which has been a catalyst for the team throughout the playoffs, had to step up in Haliburton’s absence, and T.J. McConnell was up for the challenge off the bench. He was on fire, going 8-of-13 for 16 points.   

However, Gilgeous-Alexander tapped into his MVP level of play when his Thunder needed it the most. He may have struggled from three-point land (2-of-10), but he was a shot creator for himself and others throughout the game, tallying 29 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line, 12 assists, five rebounds and two blocks. 

Gilgeous-Alexander was named the Bill Russell Finals MVP, marking the first time in 25 years a player won that award along with the league MVP and NBA scoring title. 

Alex Caruso #9 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates during the game against the Indiana Pacers during Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 22, 2025 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

But “SGA” wasn’t alone in his efforts to win it all, as his guard counterpart Jalen Williams poured in 20 points, while Chet Holmgren had the offensive game his team was hoping for after back-to-back underwhelming performances on that end. 

Holmgren finished with 18 points as well as five blocks on the defensive end.

Off the bench, Alex Caruso, now a two-time NBA champion, had 10 points, as did Cason Wallace. 

The Thunder truly started to pull away in the third quarter after the Pacers went into the locker room at halftime with the slim 48-47 lead. They outscored Indiana 34-20 in the quarter, and while we’ve seen some tremendous Pacers comebacks in these playoffs, they weren’t able to muster one final shocker in the fourth quarter. 

On their end, it was Benedict Mathurin leading the way in the points department, dropping 24 off the bench including many in the fourth to try and claw back into the game. Pascal Siakam (5-of-13, 16 points, four rebounds, two assists) couldn’t shoulder the burden of scoring with Haliburton out either. 

Jalen Williams #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates during the game against the Indiana Pacers during Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 22, 2025 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

As a team, the Thunder’s biggest flaw in Game 6 was the vast difference in turnover margin, which Indiana took advantage of. This time, it was flipped as the Pacers had 23 turnovers that resulted in 32 conceded points compared to the Thunder’s eight turnovers and 10 points off them. 

In the end, the Thunder turned this magical season into history as the second-youngest group to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy. 

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

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Upstaging Shohei Ohtani, especially on a day he pitches, is no easy feat.

But at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon, teammate Max Muncy did it twice — hitting two home runs and matching a career high with seven RBIs to lift the Dodgers to a 13-7 defeat of the Washington Nationals, and make Ohtani more of the sideshow in his second pitching start of the season.

Despite two strikeouts over a scoreless first inning from Ohtani to begin the day, Dodger Stadium had sat in relative silence for the next five innings.

Ben Casparius, who replaced the still workload-restricted Ohtani on the mound in the second, gave up a three-run home run in the third, when a flyball deflected off Hyeseong Kim’s glove at the wall before hitting a fan reaching over the barrier.

Michael Soroka, the former All-Star turned inconsistent journeyman, held the Dodgers hitless into the fifth, racking up a career-high 10 strikeouts while protecting the 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, however, an opportunity for the Dodgers finally arose.

Dalton Rushing led off with a slicing ground-rule double down the left-field line. Ohtani drew a walk with the help of two favorable ball-strike calls. Badly slumping Freddie Freeman was bailed out of an 0-and-2 count on a wild slurve from Soroka that hit his foot.

And suddenly, the Nationals had to go to the bullpen, summoning left-hander Jose A. Ferrer to face Muncy with the bases loaded.

After just three pitches to Muncy, Ferrer called out the grounds crew to rake the mound and smooth out his landing area on the downslope.

But at the plate, it gave Muncy time to think about his at-bat against Ferrer the night before, mentally lock in on what to expect, and catch his breath in the biggest moment of the game.

“When he’s ready, he’s ready,” Muncy said he told himself. “And let’s get a swing off.”

Muncy did on each of the next two pitches, fouling off one center-cut sinker before lining the next deep to left for a script-flipping, deficit-erasing, go-ahead grand slam.

“I saw the guy last night, so had a good idea of what he was throwing in there and how to approach it,” Muncy said. “I was trying to keep the ball off the ground, get something in the air, get at least one run in. Just trying to do a job. And I got a good swing off and got the ball in a good spot.”

Ohtani started the day as the main attraction.

Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani delivers in the first inning against the Nationals on Sunday.

(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)

The two-way star drew a crowd as he came onto the field for pregame warm-ups and got loose in the left-field bullpen — prompting fans even up in the upper reserve-level deck to lean over railings and get a look at his dual-role talents.

And once the game began, Ohtani climbed atop the mound and showed progress from his season debut as a pitcher six days before.

“I thought he was considerably better today,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The stuff, the life of the fastball, the command of his pitches — much better.”

Ohtani’s scoreless inning included strikeouts of Luis Garcia Jr. on a sweeper and Nathaniel Lowe on a cutter, representing his first strikeouts since returning from Tommy John surgery. He worked around a dropped infield pop-up from Mookie Betts in an otherwise efficient 18-pitch, 12-strike outing. He hit 99 mph with his fastball while mixing in a healthy dose of sweepers, cutters and splitters to complement it.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hits a home run in the eighth inning Sunday against the Nationals.

(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)

“Overall, I was able to relax much better compared to my last outing,” said Ohtani, who noted that the plan for Sunday’s start was to once again be limited to only one inning.

“I think that it’s just more of just trying to get the foundation, the building blocks as he’s taking at-bats,” Roberts added. “Getting an inning here, an inning there, and then just gradually progress.”

Ohtani also quieted recent questions about whether his return to pitching was affecting his bat.

After entering the day two-for-19 in five games since resuming two-way duties, Ohtani helped the Dodgers (48-31) pull away late. In the seventh, he laced a bases-loaded, three-run triple past the first base bag, turning a narrow one-run lead into a comfortable four-score cushion over the Nationals (32-46). In the eighth, he added more insurance, belting a two-run homer to left-center field for his National League-leading 26th long ball.

“When he’s going to the big part of the field, I think he’s really, really good,” Roberts said. “So today was good. And hopefully it quiets the noise a little bit with the days that he pitches.”

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Not to be outdone, however, Muncy raised the ante himself in the latter innings, following Ohtani’s seventh-inning triple with a three-run home run to right three batters later.

“You look at the last 30 days, I think he’s been our best hitter,” Roberts said. “We never wavered in our confidence, and we’ve shown that, and he’s proven us all right.”

Indeed, Sunday continued a stunning mid-season turnaround for Muncy — giving him a .305 average with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs over his last 39 games; compared to a .177 average, one home run and seven RBIs in his first 35 contests.

It moved him into third place among National League third basemen this season with an .815 OPS — making a player who once seemed bound for trade rumors this summer unexpectedly on the fringes of the All-Star conversation.

And, it somehow managed to top the all-around production Ohtani displayed in his two-way encore, lifting the Dodgers to a weekend series win and 7-3 record overall on this 10-game homestand.

“It’s definitely a snowball effect,” Muncy said. “Confidence is high right now.”

MMA heavyweight champion Jon Jones is retiring from competition, UFC Chairman Dana White announced Saturday.

Jones is considered the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. 

White says Jones informed the promotion of his decision to retire on Friday. By virtue of Jones’ retirement, Tom Aspinall is now the undisputed heavyweight champion. Jones retires with a 28-1 record. 

“Jon Jones called us last night and retired,” White said during a news conference in Azerbaijan. “Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.”

Jones moved up from the light heavyweight division in 2023, capturing the vacant heavyweight championship over Ciryl Gane. Jones then defended the belt in a third-round TKO victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November.

Jones has been an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump over the last year. 

Jones performed Trump’s signature dance after his win over Miocic in November. 

TRUMP PRESIDENCY ‘POSITIVE FOR THE WORLD,’ UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE SAYS

“A big, big thank you to President Donald Trump for being here tonight,” Jones said, which sent the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy.

Jon Jones, left, fights Stipe Miocoic in the  heavyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

Then, Jones used the crowd’s energy to start a “USA! USA!” chant, which they happily joined in for. 

Jon Jones reacts after defeating Stipe Miocic in a UFC 309 mixed martial arts heavyweight title bout on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

“I’m proud to be a great American champion. I’m proud to be a Christian American champion,” Jones added. 

That night, Jones even walked over to where Trump sat ringside with Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, sons Don Jr. and Eric, Kid Rick, Vivek Ramaswamy, singer Jelly Roll and others and handed him his UFC title belt. 

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