OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault knows exactly why the NBA Finals are coming down to a Game 7.
''It's a contest of wills,'' he said.
And to this point, neither side has lost its will.
Back and forth they have gone, the Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. Indiana led the series, then Oklahoma City tied it, then Indiana retook the lead, then Oklahoma City tied it again, then it was the Thunder who moved one win away and then the Pacers knotted the matchup for a third time.
After all that, Game 7.
It happens Sunday, with tipoff at 8:07 p.m. Eastern, for the NBA title. After six games — some close, some blowouts, the teams alternating who is in control of the series — there clearly is a mutual admiration between the clubs.
''It's two teams where the whole is better than the sum of the parts,'' Daigneault said. ''It's two teams that are highly competitive. Two teams that play together. Two teams that kind of rely on the same stuff for their success that are squaring off against each other.''
It is the 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history. Home teams went 15-4 in the previous 19. Indiana is seeking its first NBA title; Oklahoma City would say the same, although the franchise won the 1979 title when the team played in Seattle.