Losing an NBA Finals game is tough. Losing one after you just decimated your opponents in the game prior is even tougher. But judging from Mark Daigneault’s words on media day ahead of Game 4, it seems the Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t ones to succumb to such a fate.

See, the Thunder lost a back-and-forth Game 3 to the Indiana Pacers last night. But no one saw this coming. Especially after their 123-107 win in Game 2 to tie the series. And many thought the Thunder team would be down in the dumps emotionally after conceding the series lead to Indy. But that’s not what happened. They looked disappointed, sure. But not down. And when a reporter pointed this out to head coach Mark Daigneault, he revealed his team’s secret to remaining focused.

“I think it’s if you’re going to get high on the wins, then the natural opposite of that is to get low on the losses, and this team doesn’t really swing violently between those two things, never has. I think a lot of that’s just the personality of the players, and they do a great job with that,” said the Thunder head coach.

And Daigneault isn’t about to put too much pressure on his players in this series either. He knows these games are “new experiences” for them. But he also knows that his players are experienced enough to “know what this [series] is going to come down to.” And that is making the right adjustments after a loss like the one in Game 3.

“We’ve got to understand first what happened in the game and be able to define that accurately and then look at the things that we can improve on and go apply those forward in game four,” said Daignault. And the Oklahoma City Thunder sure are great at applying the lessons they learn from their mistakes. After all, they haven’t lost back-to-back games in this entire postseason. The last time they did was against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks team that went to the NBA Finals.

Mark Daigneault reveals how the Oklahoma City Thunder remain locked in when the stakes are high

Remaining focused in a situation where your palms are sweaty and your knees are about to buckle. But the Oklahoma City Thunder seems to have it down to a science. However, coach Mark Daigneault revealed that it’s something that’s been instilled into his players during every training session, every drill, and every game.

“I think it’s just, you know, attacking every day, attacking every rep, attacking every possession, and trying to make that a habit and understanding the compounding nature of that and the impact of that when you do that,” he said. The OKC head coach added, ” So, when you do something and then you find success doing it, it reinforces it and it breeds commitment,” he said.

And you can’t really doubt this group’s commitment. From their disciplined defense to their interactions during interviews. They’re committed to working hard, committed to helping each other, and most importantly, committed to winning. And you can’t teach this mindset. It comes from working hard. And like coach Daigneault said, “attacking” each training session or possession like your life depends on it.

But will this mindset help them recover from a 2-1 deficit in the Finals? We’ll only find out tomorrow when they go back to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. And this time, gassing out or a clutch shot from Hali probably won’t be enough to stop them. So get ready to see the Indiana Pacers attempt to stave off a hungry Oklahoma City Thunder!