
Daigneault's move to Wallace doesn't pay off
Indiana trailed the entire game in Oklahoma City before Tyrese Haliburton hit the game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left Getty Images
The Indiana Pacers have done it again, pulling off another incredible comeback to stun the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
The Pacers trailed the entire game, including by 15 points in the fourth quarter, before taking the lead for the first time on Tyrese Haliburton's game-winning jump shot with 0.3 seconds left.
It wasn't until the final minutes that Oklahoma City's grip on the game seemed in doubt. The Pacers committed a season-high 25 turnovers but the Thunder's poor shooting performance kept Indiana in the game.
Regular-season MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all players with 38 points, at least twice as many as every other player, on 14-of-30 shooting but missed a 15-footer that set up Haliburton's game-winner.
Game 2 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
GO FURTHER
Tyrese Haliburton clutch shot sinks Thunder as Pacers steal NBA Finals Game 1 Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms
Mark Daigneault chose to start Cason Wallace over Isaiah Hartenstein in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and at least for tonight, this switch did not pay dividends.
Wallace was a team-worst -13 in 33 minutes, going 3-of-9 from the field and 0-of-3 from 3. For context, the Thunder with the second-lowest +/- was Jalen Williams at -4.
It doesn't matter the score or the situation. If there is time on the clock, they'll come back. And if Tyrese Haliburton has the ball in his hands late, he'll deliver. That's become the expectation throughout a magical Pacers playoff run that featured another epic chapter Thursday night.
After storming back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit in Game 1 of the finals, the Pacers had cut the Thunder's lead to one point in the closing seconds as Haliburton dribbled across half court. Indiana didn't call a timeout, allowing Haliburton to end the game on his own terms, and he rewarded the trust his coaching staff showed in him by calming dribbling to the right wing and rising up for a game-winning midrange jumper with 0.3 seconds left.
The shot gave the Pacers their only lead of the game as they staged another improbable comeback in a postseason run that's been defined by them. Haliburton finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as he continues to etch his name in Indiana lore. The two-time All-Star has now had a game-winning or game-tying bucket within the last five seconds of a game in each round of the playoffs. His clutch gene has drawn comparisons to franchise legend Reggie Miller. But on Thursday, Haliburton did something Miller couldn't do by leading Indiana to its first NBA finals road win in team history.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bullied his way into as clean of a look as he could have asked for with the game on the line. When he finally rid himself of pesky Indiana Pacers defender Andrew Nembhard, he let his patented 14-footer fly. It would have put the Thunder ahead by three in the waning seconds, but Gilgeous-Alexander's shot missed. And against a never-say-die Pacers team, it was immediately obvious that Oklahoma City was in trouble.
For the second time in these playoffs, the Thunder coughed up a Game 1 victory at home. Tonight's loss felt exactly like their last-second loss against the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, when Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon won it on a last-second 3-pointer. This time, the Thunder watched their 15-point lead dissipate over the final 9 1/2 minutes before Tyrese Haliburton's 21-foot pull-up won it for Indiana.
It was another stunning finish by the Pacers, who turned the ball over 24 times and attempted 16 fewer shots. But for as devastating as Thursday's defeat was for Oklahoma City, the Thunder can draw on their semifinals experience. They rallied to win that series in seven despite losing home-court advantage and falling into a 2-1 series hole.
If you are just tuning into the NBA for the Finals, congratulations, you have been properly introduced to the bizarre ride that is the Indiana Pacers. It's rare that one of their games makes any sense. They had 19 turnovers in the first half, which would be bad for an entire game, and still managed to win this game anyway in spectacular fashion.
Their star, Tyrese Haliburton, was a ghost in the fourth quarter. Naturally, he hit the game-winner. This is just how it works with the Pacers. Something goes haywire, they chip back in when you don't even notice it, then they slam the door shut at the last second. This is a Cinderella run of epic proportions, flipping the script on a devastating Thunder defense with only five second-half turnovers and some spectacular shotmaking.
Andrew Nembhard, the X-factor if you ask anyone in that Pacers locker room, took over point guard duties for the fourth-quarter run, and the Pacers just kept finding ways to get clean looks from deep. He did his best Shai Gilgeous-Alexander impression and it actually worked, particularly with the Pacers controlling the glass late. Indiana was able to come back because it went 6-of-10 from deep in the fourth quarter while the Thunder didn't hit a single shot from beyond the arc. That math advantage has been fueling these wild Pacers comebacks all playoffs long.
But this performance wasn't shocking. It was just Pacers.
This was Tyrese Haliburton's fourth game-tying or game-winning shot in final 1.3 seconds of fourth quarter or overtime in these playoffs — all with the Pacers trailing in each game.
Haliburton has had one in each series: Game 5 vs. Bucks (1.3 seconds left)
Game 2 vs. Cavaliers (1.1 seconds)
Game 1 vs. Knicks (fourth-quarter buzzer)
Game 1 vs. Thunder (0.3 sec)
The Pacers completed tonight's comeback while missing eight of their 12 paint attempts in the fourth quarter.
Outside the paint?
The Pacers MADE eight of their 12 jump shots, while the Thunder missed all six of their shots outside of the paint in the fourth quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander postgame:
"It's not rocket science; we lost Game 1. We have to be better."
Besides NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort, the Thunder struggled to find consistent offensive production in their Game 1 loss, especially from the rest of their starters: Chet Holmgren scored six points on 2-of-9 shooting
Jalen Williams scored 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting
Cason Wallace scored six points on 3-of-9 shooting (0-of-3 on 3s)
One underrated part of pushing the ball in transition and not calling a timeout: Tyrese Haliburton was not forced to work against Luguentz Dort on the final possession. Instead, he got to go toe-to-toe with Cason Wallace.
There's no way Tyrese Haliburton can keep doing this right? RIGHT!?
The Pacers star guard called game in Oklahoma City tonight as he continues to put the doubters on notice, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting to go with 10 boards and six dimes.
His third game-winner of the postseason gave Indiana a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Getty Images
The Pacers are on their god tier run of making comebacks and game winners this postseason.
But the Thunder have been here as well. Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets, they led by 14 in third quarter and by 13 with 6:39 left. Aaron Gordon hit a game-winning 3 with 3.6 seconds left and the Thunder out of timeouts.
The Thunder came back to demolish the Nuggets in Game 2, but they also were dragged to a Game 7 as well.
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark seemed just as in shock as the rest of us over more heroics from the neighboring Pacers and her friend Tyrese Haliburton.
Indiana's 24 turnovers tonight are the most by any team in a NBA Finals win in the league's 3-point era (since 1979-80).
Crazy to think that after committing 20 turnovers in the first half, the Pacers committed only five turnovers the rest of the way. They took the halftime break to find their composure and found it in a major way. Getty Images
According to the NBA, Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals was the Pacers' fifth comeback victory from a deficit of 15 or more points in these playoffs. That's the most by a team in a single postseason since 1998.
As Scott Van Pelt just noted, the Pacers led for a grand total of 0.3 seconds in that game. It just so happened to be the 0.3 seconds that mattered most.
The Pacers called timeout with 9:42 left in the fourth quarter, down 15. They then outscored Oklahoma City 32-16 to end the game.
In the each of the previous three quarters, the Pacers did not reach 32 points.
With 38 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the first reigning MVP to score at least 30 points in their NBA Finals debut since Allen Iverson in 2001 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The result was very different for AI.
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.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Fox News
24 minutes ago
- Fox News
Thunder strike back as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominates Game 2 to even NBA Finals against Pacers
The Oklahoma City Thunder didn't blow a lead to the Indiana Pacers this time, as they evened up the series at one apiece after a strong Game 2 win, 123-107. Last game, it was Tyrese Haliburton showcasing another bit of heroics with a last-second shot to win it for Indiana on the road in Game 1. But Haliburton, or any of his teammates, could get back into this game as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Co. ran up the score and kept it that way. The league's MVP had the right answer for the Pacers' wild come-from-behind victory in Game 1, going 11-of-21 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe for a 34-point night to lead the game in that category. Gilgeous-Alexander also tallied eight assists, five rebounds, four steals and one block as he truly did it all on the court. The deep Thunder bench also provided some much-needed offense, as Alex Caruso had the hot hand from three-point range, hitting four of his eight attempts on his way to a 20-point night. Aaron Wiggins also added 18 points on an efficient 6-of-11 shooting with four rebounds to mark as well. In the starting five, Jalen Williams (19 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Chet Holmgren (15 points, six rebounds, one assist) also aided in the victory. Meanwhile, the Pacers struggled shooting from deep in this game, going 14-of-40 as a team (35%), which ultimately led to Oklahoma City pulling away in this one. Every Indiana starter had double-digit points, as the ball was spread around as it usually is in their offensive zone. Haliburton went 7-of-13 from the field for 17 points, but he was just 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Myles Turner (16 points), Pascal Siakam (15 points, seven rebounds) and Andrew Nembhard (11 points) went a combined 3-of-13 from three-point territory, which has been uncharacteristic of them in these NBA Playoffs. The Thunder's largest lead in this game was 23, while the Pacers only led by three points during the contest. Of course, Indiana led by just 0.3 seconds last game after Haliburton's mid-range jumper rattled home. But on their home court, this is what many expected as the series heads back to Indiana on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. tip-off. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.


Washington Post
31 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Red Sox hit 5 home runs and overcome 2 by Judge in 11-7 win over Yankees
NEW YORK — Carlos Narváez put Boston ahead with a three-run homer against his former team, and the Red Sox overcame two home runs by Aaron Judge in an 11-7 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday night. Rafael Devers also went deep as Boston equaled a season high with five longballs to take two of three games at Yankee Stadium in the first series this season between the longtime rivals. Narváez signed with the Yankees in 2015 and broke into the big leagues with them last year, getting into six games before New York traded him to Boston in December. The rookie catcher gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning by lifting a fastball from Carlos Rodón (8-4) into the left-field seats. Judge hit a pair of two-run homers for his fourth multihomer game this season and the 43rd of his career. He connected in the first off rookie Hunter Dobbins (3-1) and again in the ninth, ending the night with a .396 batting average. Boston rookie Kristian Campbell hit a two-run homer to the short porch in right field off Rodón in the fifth. Abraham Toro and Trevor Story hit back-to-back solo shots in the eighth off Jonathan Loáisiga. Jarren Duran had a two-run single off Yankees reliever Tim Hill in the sixth. Toro added an RBI double in the ninth. Dobbins allowed three runs and four hits in five innings. A day after telling the Boston Herald, 'If the Yankees were the last team to give me a contract, I'd retire,' Dobbins heard little reaction from the crowd of 45,140. DJ LeMahieu homered in the fifth to give New York a 3-2 lead. Rodón permitted five runs and three hits in five-plus innings. The left-hander lost for the first time in eight decisions since April 13. Garrett Whitlock retired LeMahieu on a bases-loaded grounder to end the sixth after the Yankees had cut it to 7-5. … Aroldis Chapman, the seventh Boston reliever, fanned Anthony Volpe with two on for his 11th save. Boston scored 27 runs in the series, its most in a three-game set at Yankee Stadium since 2005. … Loáisiga has allowed four homers in nine appearances since returning from elbow surgery. Red Sox RHP Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.91 ERA) opens a three-game series in Boston against Tampa Bay RHP Shane Baz (5-3, 4.96) on Monday night. Yankees LHP Max Fried (8-1, 1.78 ERA) opposes rookie LHP Noah Cameron (2-1, 0.85) in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday at Kansas City. ___ More AP baseball:
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pacers vs. Thunder NBA Finals: Yep, this is the OKC team that is trying to put a bow on a historic season
OKLAHOMA CITY — After blowing a fourth-quarter lead in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder spent every waking hour since Thursday night hearing about it. About how they galaxy-brained themselves with their starting lineup switch. About how blinking first and going away from playing two-big lineups cost them not just a game, but home-court advantage. About the myriad tactical adjustments they desperately needed to make to stem the tide of the rampaging, team-of-destiny Indiana Pacers. About everything. Advertisement So Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault got in the lab, pored over the film and came up with the most brilliant adjustment that any coach can make: Hey, everyone: play better. 'I think we were just a little bit better in a lot of different areas — of execution, of pace, organization, decision-making in the paint, aggressiveness at the basket, gathering the ball,' Daigneault said Sunday, after Oklahoma City returned serve in a dominant 123-107 win to level the 2025 NBA Finals at one game apiece. 'We just were a tick forward in all those areas … I thought everyone played better individually, and I thought we played better collectively.' Masterful gambit, Coach. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was tough to stop in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) The Thunder did on Sunday what they've done after losses all season: punch back. Hard. They're now 17-2 after a defeat this season, including 5-0 in the playoffs, with those five wins coming by an average of 19.6 points — right in line with their 20.5-point average margin of victory following a regular-season L. Advertisement 'I think tonight was a better representation of how we play,' said Thunder reserve Alex Caruso, who scored 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 27 characteristically hyperactive minutes off the bench. It was, in virtually every capacity. After combining for 23 points on 28 shots in Game 1, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren combined for 34 on 25 in Game 2. Holmgren also provided strong rim protection and held his own on multiple possessions when switched out onto the perimeter, while Williams drew praise from Daigneault for an attacking approach that saw him draw seven fouls and dish five assists. 'He didn't get off to a great start in his first stint, but he really settled into the game,' Daigneault said of Williams. 'He's huge for us. All the things he brings to the game — defensively, size, versatility, physicality, offensive, on-ball, off-ball … that floor is really high. We really need him every single night.' Advertisement The uptick from Williams and Holmgren was emblematic of the overall bounce-back for Oklahoma City, which scored a scorching 128.1 points per 100 possessions against an overwhelmed Pacers defense. After going just 28-for-68 (41.2%) inside the 3-point arc in Game 1, Oklahoma City shot 26-for-46 (56.5%) on 2-pointers in Game 2, a dramatic improvement finishing on the interior. After notching a season-low 13 assists in Game 1, the Thunder nearly doubled their dimes, dishing 25 against 13 turnovers. They got to the line more often: 20-for-24 in Game 1, 29-for-33 in Game 2. They created and made more 3-pointers: 11-for-30 in Game 1, 14-for-36 in Game 2. After decisively losing the rebounding battle in Game 1 — though, as both Daigneault and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle noted, that was partly a function of there being fewer defensive rebounds for OKC to get, considering how often they turned Indiana over in the first half — the Thunder earned a 43-35 edge on the glass. After giving up 12 buckets at the rim in Game 1, they allowed just five in Game 2, doing a better job of forcing the Pacers into contested midrange looks. While they allowed 40 3-point attempts, those looks more often felt harried and off-rhythm, launched over crisp and hellacious Thunder closeouts. Advertisement They smothered Tyrese Haliburton, holding him to just five points on seven shots with four assists against three turnovers through three quarters. They better matched the physicality of Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, refusing to concede space and clean shots to the Pacers' other starters, short-circuiting Indiana's offensive ecosystem in the process. 'I thought the guys did a really good job of keeping the foot on the gas, especially defensively,' Daigneault said after Oklahoma City held Indiana to just 104.4 points per 100 possessions — a worst-in-the-league-caliber offensive performance — through the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter, when Carlisle waved the white flag and pulled his starters. 'I thought we really amped it up on that end of the floor.' The Thunder rolled on the offensive end, too, with the NBA's Most Valuable Player continuing his assault on both the Pacers defense and the record books. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 34 points in Game 2, giving him a total of 72 in the series — a new high-water mark for any player in his first two career NBA Finals games, surpassing the 71 that Allen Iverson poured in back in 2001. But unlike in Game 1, where the Pacers were able to (somewhat) limit the MVP's damage to tough self-created buckets, Gilgeous-Alexander needed just 21 field-goal attempts to crack 30 on Sunday — and also added eight assists to six different teammates, breaking down the defense and drawing help before kicking it out to create 22 more Thunder points through his passing. Advertisement 'The way I see it, I have no choice,' Gilgeous-Alexander said of relying on his teammates. 'No one-man show achieves what I'm trying to achieve with this game. All the stats and the numbers, they're fun. I don't play in space as much as I do without having them out there. I don't get open as much as I do without having the screeners out there … those guys are the reason why we're as good of a team as we are. I just add to it.' The Thunder are hard enough to beat when Gilgeous-Alexander's going off by himself. But when he's got help — to the tune of four other Thunderers scoring 15 or more points, the first time five teammates have done that in a Finals game since the Raptors did it against the Warriors in 2019 — they're damn near impossible to deal with. Caruso drilled four 3-pointers off the bench. Aaron Wiggins, relegated to just nine minutes in Game 1, came out firing in the second quarter, scoring eight points in eight minutes as part of a trademark 19-2 Thunder run that turned a two-possession game into a 23-point boatrace. (Indiana promptly ripped off 10 points, if only to remind Oklahoma City that, as Jalen Williams said before Game 1, 'They're never too far behind, and we've always got to keep that in the back of our mind.') Advertisement 'I think we just kind of found a rhythm on both ends of the court,' said Wiggins, who finished with 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including a 5-for-8 mark from long range, in 21 minutes. 'We were able to get stops, get out in transition, hit a couple shots. Once we kind of got going, you could kind of just feel the energy playing a factor in that.' And, crucially, that energy never really waned. When the Pacers started drawing fouls early in the third quarter, getting into the bonus early and giving themselves a chance to march to the free-throw line to get their offense unstuck, the Thunder remained poised, took care of the ball and continued to generate good looks for themselves, scoring 34 points on just 23 possessions in the frame to keep them at bay. When Indiana had a shot to cut the deficit to 16 in the closing seconds of the third — an opportunity to maybe grab a sliver of momentum, some steady footing from which to mount one last furious charge — Cason Wallace swatted the hell out of it: The Thunder never eased up. Not when they once again started small, with Wallace in place of Isaiah Hartenstein. Not when Hartenstein checked in for Holmgren midway through the first quarter — or when Holmgren checked back in for Luguentz Dort with 3:51 to go in the first, as Daigneault went double-big against Indiana's reserve frontcourt of Obi Toppin and Thomas Bryant, kicking off a 9-0 Thunder run to end the quarter. Not when they turned to Wiggins and rock-solid small-ball 4 (and sometimes 5) Kenrich Williams to better match Indiana's size on the perimeter. ('I don't know if there was any lineup that they used that wasn't impactful for them,' Carlisle said.) Advertisement Not when the Pacers made a couple of runs to cut the deficit to 13 — the moments where things got wobbly in Game 1. The Thunder never wobbled on Sunday. They stood tall, firm, sovereign. The 68-win juggernaut we watched all season showed up in Game 2, giving the Pacers plenty to think about as they board the plane to head back home. 'Another bad first half,' Carlisle said. 'Obviously, it was a big problem, and we just played poorly. A little bit better in the second half, but you can't be a team that's reactive and expect to be successful or have consistency. So we're going to have to be a lot better on Wednesday.' Advertisement As will Oklahoma City. Daigneault said that the Thunder try to use the early games of a series 'to learn what our options are, and what our trade-offs are, and … just get a little bit more information.' 'Now we have it,' he said. 'We'll apply that as we move forward in the series.' Gilgeous-Alexander highlighted one specific thing they learned the hard way in Game 1 and applied in Game 2 — and, in the process, looked a hell of a lot more like the Thunder team that dominated the league this season. 'You can't just throw the first punch,' he said. 'You've got to try to throw all the punches, all night. Yeah, that's what we did: We threw enough punches tonight to go get a W.'