OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The NBA Finals. East vs. West. Indiana vs. Oklahoma City. Canada vs. … Canada?

It sure seemed like it at times in Game 1 of the series, anyway — and odds are, there will be more of those moments throughout the rest of this matchup between the Pacers and Thunder.

There are four Canadians in the series, and two of them — NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder and Andrew Nembhard for the Pacers — went head-to-head plenty in Game 1. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points; Nembhard scored eight of his 14 in the fourth and was on the floor for the entirety of Indiana’s 32-16 run that ended the game and turned a 15-point deficit into a one-point win.

“He’s a competitor. He’s a winner,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Plays the game the right way on both ends of the floor.

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