Joe Vardon (theathletic://author/742837)
June 5, 2025Updated June 6, 2025 12:17 am EDT
OKLAHOMA CITY — How many times has Tyrese Haliburton done this already? Better yet, how many more will it take to make the Indiana Pacers champions?
We just might find out.
Haliburton, the new king of the playoff game-winner, did it again on Thursday with a jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining to give the Indiana Pacers an improbable 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
This is getting ridiculous, for Haliburton and for the Pacers. He now has three game-winning shots during this magical postseason run – to beat Milwaukee in Game 5 of the first round, Cleveland in Game 2 for the second, and now this one, obviously the biggest shot of his career since this is his first NBA Finals. Throw in that game-tying stunner against the Knicks in which he hit the Reggie Miller choke pose in Game 1 of the conference finals, and, yeah, his is quickly becoming a postseason of legend.
The same can now be said of the Pacers, who are stockpiling shocking comeback victories at a fast rate. They already owned an NBA-record three comebacks this postseason in which they trailed by seven or more points in the final minute. It wasn’t quite that drastic in Game 1 of the finals, but they had never led in the game, were down by 14 early in the fourth quarter and by five with 90 seconds to go — an eternity with Haliburton on the team.
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And with Haliburton’s latest winner, the Pacers tied the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in a finals game (15 points) since 1971.
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Haliburton had a quiet night up until his winning bucket, scoring 14 points to go with 10 assists. Obi Toppin scored 17 points off the bench. Myles Turner scored eight of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Nembhard also scored eight of his 14 in the fourth. This is just how the Pacers roll. Remember, the Pacers needed six 3s in about five minutes from Aaron Nesmith in Game 1 against New York just to set up Haliburton’s previous thriller.
Adding to the shock factor of this particular comeback was how badly Indiana handled the ball in the first half. The Pacers committed 19 turnovers through two quarters — the most turnovers in the first half of a finals game since 1990 and the most in a half of any playoff game since 1999. The Pacers’ 25 turnovers were among the most in a finals game, but the mistakes are a footnote instead of a cause of disappointment.
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The Pacers have one of the league’s fastest and best offenses with a signature style of getting the ball off the rim or out of the basket as fast as possible and pushing it up the floor. But with the collection of linebackers Oklahoma City employs on the wings — Dort, Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander and Alex Caruso are as long and stout as any collection of guards and wings — Indiana had trouble getting into the key, finding a clear passing lane, or simply holding onto the ball in the first half.
The Thunder also made a lineup change, starting Wallace instead of traditional center Isaiah Hartenstein, breaking up the Thunder’s starting lineup from each of their first 16 playoff games, presumably to be better equipped to handle Indiana’s pace.
[Ooh, I wouldn't have done that, and I bet Daigneault won't do it again. OKC got CRUSHED on the boards tonight.]
But the Pacers found their poise in the second half and a huge upset resulted. The Thunder are among the most heavily favored teams entering a finals in history. Now they trail 1-0 to the comeback kings.
