KOCO 5 Sports talks Game 3 of NBA Finals from Indianapolis

AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE THAT ATMOSPHERE OUT THERE TONIGHT. OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR SPORTS TEAM IN INDIANAPOLIS RIGHT NOW. SPORTS DIRECTOR BRYAN KEATING AND OUR HANNAH HOOVER JOINING US LIVE AS WELL. ALL RIGHT GUYS, HOW’S IT GOING OUT THERE SO FAR? IT’S IT’S GOOD. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SORT OF BEGIN TO FEEL THE ANTICIPATION. YOU JUST KIND OF WALKING AROUND THE CITY A LITTLE BIT. A WHOLE BUNCH OF PACERS GEAR. EVERYBODY’S IN YELLOW AND DECKED OUT AND READY TO GO FOR GAME THREE TONIGHT. WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO COME IN HERE AND FOR OKLAHOMA CITY TO TRY TO TAKE BACK THIS SERIES AND BE IN CONTROL. IF YOU FIGURE OUT A WAY TO WIN TONIGHT, I’M REALLY INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT THIS CROWD IS LIKE COMPARED TO THE PAYCOM, BECAUSE EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE JUST AS LOUD OF A CROWD. AND, YOU KNOW, WE’LL TRY TO BE NEUTRAL WITH OUR DECISION THERE. IF IT IS ACTUALLY TRUE, I’LL CALL IT LIKE IT IS. IF THEY’RE GREAT, I’LL SAY THEY’RE GREAT. AND I EXPECT THEM TO BE REALLY GOOD TONIGHT. YEAH, BUT IT’S GOING TO BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THIS ALL SHAKES OUT HERE. BECAUSE GAME THREE IS A VERY IMPORTANT. DIDN’T HAVE A SINGLE TURNOVER AFTER NINE MINUTES IN THE FOURTH THAT AIDED THAT COMEBACK. GILGEOUS ALEXANDER PULLS UP THAT ONE DOWN TWO OF THE FINALS. A 30 YEAR OLD VET. AND I WAS GOING TO ASK THEM ABOUT THAT. GAME THREE OF COURSE, THIS IS A BEST OF SEVEN SERIES. IF WE CAN GO BACK TO OUR SPORTS TEAM, IT’S ONLY GAME THREE. THAT DOESN’T SOUND THAT SIGNIFICANT. BUT GUYS, WHEN A SERIES IS TIED LIKE THIS 1 TO 1, GAME THREE HISTORICALLY HAS BEEN VERY IMPORTANT. BRIAN AND HANNAH. YEAH. WHEN THE SERIES IS TIED ONE ONE INCH THE NBA FINALS, HISTORICALLY, THE WINNER OF GAME THREE GOES ON TO WIN THIS SERIES 80% OF THE TIME. SO LOOK, THAT DOESN’T HAVE ANY BEARING ON WHAT HAPPENS TONIGHT AND THE REST OF THE SERIES. IT’S JUST KIND OF A BASELINE TO TELL YOU IN ALL THE HISTORY OF THE NBA FINALS, IF YOU WIN GAME THREE, YOU’RE IN REALLY GOOD POSITION TO GO ON AND WIN THIS SERIES. SO AS YOU LOOK AT OKLAHOMA CITY TONIGHT, YOU SEE WHAT THE LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE IT IS. AND AND IF YOU DO TAKE CONTROL OF THIS SERIES, AGAIN, THEY’RE IN GREAT POSITION. THERE’S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. YEAH. AND I THINK IN SOME WAYS YOU CAN KIND OF THROW OUT THAT STAT JUST BECAUSE, HEY, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. THERE’S STILL A 20% CHANCE. BUT I THINK THE MORE IMPORTANT NOTE ON GAME THREE IS THAT BOTH OF THESE TEAMS HAVE STRUGGLED IN GAME THREE THROUGHOUT THE PLAYOFFS. AND YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT THE INDIANA PACERS, THEY HAVEN’T WON A SINGLE GAME. THREE OKC DID WIN AGAINST MEMPHIS, BUT THEY HAD TO COME BACK FROM A 30 POINT DEFICIT. AND SO I THINK BOTH OF THESE TEAMS KNOW JUST HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO WIN IN GAME THREE. BUT THIS SERIES COULD DEFINITELY BE SPLIT WHEN I MEAN SERIES I MEAN THE HOME STAND HERE FOR THE PACERS COULD BE SPLIT 11I DON’T KNOW BRIAN. WHAT DO YOU THINK. LOOK IF THEY WIN TONIGHT THEY’RE IN CONTROL OF THE SERIES. ALL THE PRESSURE WOULD BE ON INDIANA IN GAME FOUR. THERE’S JUST NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT. BUT YOU GOT TO COME IN HERE AND DO IT. I DO EXPECT THE ATMOSPHERE TO BE AWESOME. YEAH I THINK, YOU KNOW FROM ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WE’VE TALKED TO AROUND HERE, WHETHER THEY WERE IN OKLAHOMA CITY, THEY’RE VERY PROUD OF THEIR ARENA AND THE FAN BASE GOING TO SHOW OUT AND THE ATMOSPHERE TONIGHT. I DON’T THINK THERE’LL BE ANY ANY QUESTION ABOUT THAT. HOW IT COMPARES TO PAYCOM I HAVE NO IDEA. WE’LL SEE. BUT I EXPECT THE ATMOSPHERE TO BE UNBELIEVABLE. I EXPECT BOTH TEAMS TO PLAY LIKE THEIR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, AND THEN WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS TONIGHT. YOU KNOW, IT’S AT AT 830 HERE. LOCAL IN 730 BACK IN OKLAHOMA CITY. AND GUYS THE TEAM THEY’VE BEEN THERE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS NOW. SO HOW DO YOU THINK THEY’RE FEELING RIGHT NOW HEADING INTO GAME THREE. IT’S THE BIGGEST GAME THEY’VE EVER PLAYED HANNAH I MEAN YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU THE BIGGEST GAME THE BIGGEST GAME. AND THEY ALL GET BIGGER FROM HERE. YOU KNOW EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT’S AT STAKE. EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT THEY’RE PLAYING FOR. EVERYBODY KNOWS THE PRESSURE I THINK FOR INDIANA THEY’VE GOT A LOT OF PRESSURE ON THEM TONIGHT TO TO HOLD HOME COURT AND TO KEEP THAT HOME COURT ADVANTAGE. AND FOR OKLAHOMA CITY THEY WANT TO DO WHAT INDIANA DID, WHICH IS GO ON THE ROAD, WIN AT LEAST ONE OF THE TWO, GET GAME FIVE AT LEAST IN A22 SERIES BACK IN OKLAHOMA CITY. SO HOW ARE THEY FEELING? THEY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE WALKING INTO. IT’S JUST HOW DO YOU HANDLE IT ONCE YOU GET IN HERE? AND SO I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE TONIGHT. THERE’S A REASON OKLAHOMA CITY IS FAVORED. YEAH, BUT YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND WIN THE GAMES. AND THAT STARTS TONIGHT. YEAH AARON WIGGINS TALKED ABOUT YOU HAD A BIG GAME IN GAME TWO. AND JUST HOW IT’S HELPFUL TO HAVE THOSE 48 HOURS OF REST. SO I THINK THAT’S A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR IN THIS GAME AS WELL. BUT OKC IS GOING TO SHOW OUT TONIGHT AT AN INDIANA IS AS WELL. I EXPECT THEM TO PLAY WELL. I EXPECT IT TO BE CLOSE AND WE’LL SEE IF OKLAHOMA CITY CAN COME BACK WITH A WIN. BRIAN HANNAH, WE APPRECIATE YOU. I’LL JUST BRAG ON OUR SPORTS TEAM REAL QUICK. THEY’VE BEEN DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB, A LOT OF TRAVEL, A LOT OF LATE NIGHTS,