Tyrese Haliburton game winner seals another epic heist as Pacers stun Thunder in NBA Finals opener
Tyrese Haliburton scored with 0.3 seconds left for Indiana's first and only lead of the game and the Pacers, the last-minute comeback kings of these playoffs, did it again to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
The Pacers were down by 15 with 9:42 left, matching the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in a finals game since Dallas came from 15 down to beat Miami in Game 2 of the 2011 Finals.
The coach of those Mavericks: Rick Carlisle. The coach of these Pacers: Rick Carlisle.
It was the fifth time in Haliburton's career where he has made a game-tying or go-ahead field goal in the final five seconds of a playoff game, with four of those coming in this post-season alone. Since 1997, only LeBron James (eight) has more shots in the same situation.
And once again, Indiana found a way at the end in these playoffs. In the Game 5 of the first round series against the Bucks, the Pacers 118-111 with 34.6 seconds left in overtime and won 119-118. In Game 2 of the second round series against the Cavaliers, Indiana trailed 119-112 with 48 seconds left and won 120-119. Then in the Eastern Conference Finals opener against the Knicks, they trailed 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left in regulation and won 138-135 in overtime.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points. Obi Toppin scored 17, Myles Turner had 15, and Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard each had 14.
League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 38 for Oklahoma City, which was 36-1 at home with 15-point leads this season.
Game 2 is in Oklahoma City on Monday morning
Oklahoma City led by 15 early in the fourth when Carlisle called time and subbed out all five players, seeking a spark. It worked. The Pacers outscored the Thunder 15-4 over the next 3:26 — getting within 98-94 on a made three-pointer by Turner with 6:16 left.
They never stopped, all the way to the end.
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Tyrese Haliburton hit the game-winner yet again as the Indiana Pacers stormed back to stun Oklahoma City 111-110 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Pacers should've been out of the game at halftime. But they weren't, which was fitting for a team that has time and time again defied the odds this postseason. We shouldn't have been surprised. But we were. Watch every game of The NBA Finals LIVE with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. After all, this is a team that has now come back from deficits of 15 points or more five times in the playoffs — the most in a single postseason since 1998. And they are led by a player in Haliburton who, no matter how quiet he has been or how few of his shots are falling, will not shy away from the moment. 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And yet, they won, despite also being behind 108-99 with less than three minutes left. Teams in the NBA Finals who trailed by nine-plus points with fewer than three minutes remaining were 0-182 since 1971 before Friday. Now, they are 1-182. Tonight was only the fourth time in NBA postseason history where a team had at least 18 more turnovers than their opponent ...first time since 2008 ... first time in Finals since 1970 And the first time a team WON THE GAME with at least 18 more turnovers than their opponent. — Law Murray 🚨 (@LawMurrayTheNU) June 6, 2025 NBA teams were 0-121 when down by 7 or more points in the final 3 minutes of regulation in the NBA Finals over the last 28 postseasons. They are now 1-121. — Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) June 6, 2025 There was talk in the lead-up to the series that Oklahoma City could opt for a smaller line-up against fast-paced Indiana and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault did just that, moving Isaiah Hartenstein out of the starting five and promoting second-year guard Cason Wallace. The Thunder had already found plenty of success in the postseason with Wallace alongside their traditional starters, outscoring opponents 72-50 in 26 minutes according to The Athletic's Law Murray, and opened up an early 7-0 lead on Friday. That was off the back of their 'Big Three' though as Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren all got on the board early. It would have been easy for the Pacers to fall into an even greater hole from that point, as the far more experienced Nuggets and Timberwolves did at times in their series against the Thunder while on the road. Instead, having started the game 0-for-4 from the field, Indiana responded with a 10-3 run to tie up the game. For a Thunder team with few weaknesses, the Pacers were at least finding some success when the opportunity presented itself to switch Pascal Siakam onto the much smaller Wallace, with the Indiana forward scoring two early buckets because of it. Hartenstein entered the game for Wallace with five minutes left in the first quarter and had an immediate impact, setting a screen for Gilgeous-Alexander to find an open driving lane to the rim. It was the start of a highly productive stint for the Thunder big, who had seven points, two rebounds and a steal on the box score in just five minutes to complement his effective screen-setting. In some ways, Indiana was fortunate to only be trailing 29-20 after the first quarter despite turning it over nine times given that is usually a recipe for disaster against this Oklahoma City team. 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SGA has more FGA (18) than Indy has shots made (15). — Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) June 6, 2025 Substandard shooting from the Thunder was the only thing keeping the Pacers in the game, with Gilgeous-Alexander at his aggressive best attempting 18 field goals in the first half alone on his way to 19 points. The MVP was also a menace on the defensive end, as was Alex Caruso who had three steals to go with seven points, two rebounds and a plus-minus of +14 in 13 minutes off the bench. Oklahoma City's 11 steals all up at halftime were also the most in any Finals half in the play-by-play era dating back to 1998. As much as the Pacers were in a fortunate position given their turnover-prone first half, they still desperately needed to answer back early in the third quarter. Instead, they committed another three turnovers in the first five minutes while Wallace, who was targeted in defensive mismatches early in the game, flipped the script on Indiana as he attacked Haliburton. The Thunder had opened up a 67-55 lead at that point and to their credit, despite the turnovers, the Pacers were able to hang around and looked to have cut the deficit to just six points late entering the fourth. But a big Gilgeous-Alexander triple brought up 28 points for the MVP and pushed Oklahoma City's lead out to 85-76. It just seemed like it was going to be that kind of night for the Pacers. As much as they threatened to make it a game, every time Indiana inched closer Oklahoma City responded almost immediately. Of course, this Pacers team has a history of comebacks in the postseason so the Thunder couldn't afford to come out in the fourth quarter complacent. And they didn't. Instead, Oklahoma City turned up the heat as four quick points from Williams, including an emphatic dunk, gave the Thunder a 94-79 lead. But again, just as the Pacers looked to be on the canvas they fired back again, this time going on a 9-2 run to force the Thunder into a time-out as their buffer shrunk to eight points with just as many minutes left. Indiana then closed the gap even further to just four points as Oklahoma City's execution at the rim left much to be desired, with Holmgren missing a driving layup. So, it was left to the MVP to show his teammates how it is done as an aggressive Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the rim for the finish. Down 108-99, a pair of Pacers 3-pointers made it a three-point game entering the final two minutes. But a crucial Dort block turned into a Gilgeous-Alexander layup on the other end as the OKC continued to just hold off a frantic Pacers comeback — until Haliburton had the final say.
