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Toss out the series record (1-1) and the Thunder have dominated the NBA Finals through two games. The Pacers have led for a grand total of one minute and 53 seconds and would be down two games to none if not for a furious rally and one incredible Tyrese Haliburton shot.

Outside of one shot, it's the Thunder who have imposed their will in a battle between a historic defense and one of the most dangerous offenses the league has ever seen in the playoffs. 

Here's 10 crazy stats on the OKC defense to chew on as the Thunder attempt to suffocate the Pacers offense and close in on a championship:

1. The Thunder led the NBA in defensive rating, opponent field goal percentage and opponent turnovers in the regular season. Holding opponents to the lowest shooting percentage is one thing. Forcing the most turnovers is another. It's a rare and lethal combo. The 2016-17 Warriors are the only team since the 1976-77 NBA-ABA merger to lead the NBA in both. When you factor in defensive rating, which is how many points per 100 possessions a team allows, the Thunder are the only team to lead the NBA in all three categories in a season since the merger. It's essentially one of the most well-rounded defenses ever.

2. The Thunder were 2.5 points per 100 possessions better than any other team in defensive rating this season. Oklahoma City was the best defense in the NBA during the regular season, by a landslide. It's the second-largest gap between the top two defensive ratings in the last 25 seasons (only the 2015-16 Spurs had a wider gap vs. the next-closest team).

3. The Thunder are averaging 18.2 opponent turnovers per game this postseason, the most by any team in a single postseason since the 1996 Bulls. All Chicago did was win 72 games (an NBA record at the time) with a trio of first-team All-Defense selections (Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman). Oklahoma City is also averaging the most steals and blocks per game (16.4) in a postseason since the 1983 Lakers and the most steals per game (10.9) in a postseason since the 1975 Warriors (minimum 15 games).

4. Simply put, the Thunder get their hands on everything. They have 380 deflections this postseason, 77 more than any other team.  Oklahoma City has four of the top six leaders in that category this postseason between Jalen Williams (63), Alex Caruso (58), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (58) and Cason Wallace (51).

5. The Thunder defense is approaching more history, too, as they need 11 steals to break the NBA record for most steals in a single postseason in NBA history (206 by 1977 Trail Blazers). They could accomplish that in Game 3 on Wednesday. 

6. Including the regular season and playoffs, the Thunder have the most steals by any team in a season (1,043) in 28 years, since the 1995-96 Supersonics collected 1,051. That team featured Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton. There's a reason he was nicknamed "The Glove."

7. It's all continued into the NBA Finals. The Thunder have the most steals in Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals (24) since the Celtics in 1986 (a series they won vs. the Rockets). They've also forced the most turnovers (40) in the first two games of an NBA Finals series in the play-by-play era (since 1997),

8. Half of those turnovers came in the first half of Game 1, tying the most turnovers (20) by any team in the first half of any game, regular season or playoffs, in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97).

9. Haliburton, author of that aforementioned incredible shot, has 12 assists and eight turnovers in the 2025 NBA Finals, his worst assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) in any two-game span this season. Outside of one shot (and it was a legendary one), OKC has stifled one of the best creators in the NBA. He had 156 assists and 31 turnovers this postseason entering the Finals. He posted the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in NBA history this regular season (5.61 on 673 assists and 120 turnovers) behind only Muggsy Bogues in 1989-90 (minimum 500 assists). So yes, disrupting one of the best creators in the NBA like this is astounding.

10. The Pacers have 40 turnovers and are shooting 46.3% from the field this series. It's the only time in the last two seasons they've had that many turnovers and that low of a field goal percentage in a two-game span. 

Those might not seem like awful numbers, especially the shooting marks, but keep in mind, I wrote recently about how this was a team on the best two-year playoff run on offense since the "Showtime Lakers." It's completely uncharacteristic from one of the best shooting and passing teams we've seen in the playoffs in roughly three decades.

Indiana probably has some hot shooting in them and the Thunder could falter for a game (look at what Minnesota did to them in Game 3 of the conference finals), but this defense (and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) is why it's going to be really tough to win the series.