{"id":32604,"date":"2025-06-10T12:33:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T11:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matchplug.com\/blog\/?p=32604"},"modified":"2025-06-10T12:34:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T11:34:58","slug":"severe-weather-delays-pacers-arrival-in-okc-ahead-of-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matchplug.com\/blog\/severe-weather-delays-pacers-arrival-in-okc-ahead-of-nba-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"Severe Weather Delays Pacers\u2019 Arrival in OKC Ahead of NBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Indiana Pacers\u2019 long-awaited return to the NBA Finals<\/a> hit a turbulent start Tuesday as severe weather in Oklahoma delayed their arrival in Oklahoma City by several hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their charter flight was diverted to Tulsa due to tornado warnings, heavy rain, and high winds across central Oklahoma. After refueling and navigating around additional storms, the team finally landed in OKC around 7 p.m. local time, approximately 3.5 hours behind schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While skies had cleared by their arrival, the delay came amid a chaotic weather day.  Flood watches, severe thunderstorm alerts, and a tornado spotted near Norman, just 20 miles from OKC. Airport operations in Oklahoma City were disrupted throughout the afternoon and evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the rocky journey, the Pacers will participate in NBA Finals media day on Wednesday. Game 1 is set for Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It marks Indiana\u2019s first Finals since 2000 and OKC\u2019s first since 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As center Myles Turner put it before departure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou spend so much time thinking about getting there\u2026 now that milestone has been achieved. It\u2019s about doing something with the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Indiana Pacers\u2019 long-awaited return to the NBA Finals hit a turbulent start Tuesday as severe weather in Oklahoma delayed their arrival in Oklahoma City by several hours. Their charter flight was diverted to Tulsa due to tornado warnings, heavy rain, and high winds across central Oklahoma. After refueling and navigating around additional storms, the team finally landed in OKC around 7 p.m. local time, approximately 3.5 hours behind schedule. While skies had cleared by their arrival, the delay came amid a chaotic weather day.  Flood watches, severe thunderstorm alerts, and a tornado spotted near Norman, just 20 miles from OKC. Airport operations in Oklahoma City were disrupted throughout the afternoon and evening. Despite the rocky journey, the Pacers will participate in NBA Finals media day on Wednesday. Game 1 is set for Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It marks Indiana\u2019s first Finals since 2000 and OKC\u2019s first since 2012. As center Myles Turner put it before departure: \u201cYou spend so much time thinking about getting there\u2026 now that milestone has been achieved. It\u2019s about doing something with the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":32617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[220,3,169,531,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-sport-football-news","category-basketball","category-news","category-news-2","category-news-and-analysis"],"yoast_head":"\nSevere Weather Delays Pacers\u2019 Arrival in OKC Ahead of NBA Finals - Matchplug Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Indiana Pacers\u2019 long-awaited return to the NBA Finals was delayed on Tuesday due to weather in Oklahoma.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/matchplug.com\/blog\/severe-weather-delays-pacers-arrival-in-okc-ahead-of-nba-finals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Severe Weather Delays Pacers\u2019 Arrival in OKC Ahead of NBA Finals - 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