"It's Not Rocket Science": Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Reacts After Tyrese Haliburton Steals Game 1 For Pacers
"It's Not Rocket Science": Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Reacts After Tyrese Haliburton Steals Game 1 For Pacers originally appeared on Fadeaway World.
The Indiana Pacers have stunned the basketball world after stealing Game 1 of the NBA Finals in a 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tyrese Haliburton hit the game-winning shot with less than a second left on the clock as the Pacers took the lead for the first time in what was essentially the final possession of the game. With less than a second left, the Thunder failed to make a shot after their timeout as the Paycom Center fell silent in Oklahoma.
Advertisement
Following the game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP of the NBA, spoke to the media regarding the Thunder's reactions and the aftermath of the loss. He had a very simple explanation for how the Thunder plan to respond to this setback.
'We just got to focus on being better. This series isn't first to one, it's first to four. So we have four more games to win and they have three, that's just where we are. We've got to understand that and we got to get to four before they get to three if we want to win the NBA championship, it's that simple. It's not rocket science, we lost Game 1. We have to be better.'
The Michael Jordan MVP Award winner, Gilgeous-Alexander, had 38 points in the game to lead all scorers. He also had three assists and five rebounds to go with those points. He made 14 of his 30 field-goal attempts in the game, going three of six from beyond the arc and seven of eight from the free-throw line. While dominating most of the game, Gilgeous-Alexander missed what could have been the game-winning shot that eventually led to Haliburton getting the ball in the final seconds of the game.
What Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Said About Tyrese Haliburton's Game-Winner
When the media asked 'SGA' about the final minute of the game, he seemed indifferent towards Haliburton's game-winner. While he commended Haliburton's game-winner, he seemed to be more concerned with his own missed shot to win the game on the other end, or at least force a three-point shot to tie the game.
Advertisement
'I thought I got a pretty good look, felt good, didn't go in. And then they got a look, and it went in. I don't know, basketball, ups and downs, it is what it is. You can't do anything about it now, just got to be better for next game.'
However, he gave Haliburton his flowers a few moments after his initial response.
'I don't know. It happened so fast. I feel like we got matched. He got down going right, pulled up from middy, and knocked down the shot. I don't know, it didn't feel like anything crazy. He just made a play with the time winding down and made a good play.'
Tyrese Haliburton finished the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. The Thunder's defense had him locked down for most of the game. So much that Richard Jefferson even claimed on a live broadcast that he was "shooting tour dates" in the game. However, he turned up clutch in the final moments of the game to prove why he is the leader of this team. This records the fifth time this season where the Pacers have come back from a double-digit deficit in the Playoffs. Their resilience has brought them one step closer to their first NBA championship.
Related: Pacers End Up On Wrong Side Of History In Game 1 Of NBA Finals
This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
25 minutes ago
- CBS News
Sovereignty wins the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes
Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty galloped to victory in muddy conditions at the 157th Belmont Stakes in Saratoga Springs, New York, on Saturday in the third leg of the Triple Crown. Sovereignty, who entered the race with 2-to-1 odds, defeated a field of seven challengers. Journalism finished in second place. The race marked a kind of replay of the Derby, in which Sovereignty finished in first and Journalism was the runner-up. Journalism had entered as the heavy favorite after winning the Preakness. Derby third-place finisher Baeza was also in the field of eight. Journalism was the only horse who ran in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year. Bob Baffert-trained Rodriguez was in the Belmont after being scratched from the Derby because of a minor foot bruise that also kept the colt out of the Preakness. The Belmont took place for a second consecutive time at the historic Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York. The New York Racing Association temporarily relocated it there while Belmont Park on Long Island undergoes nearly half-a-billion dollars in renovations. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Indianapolis Star
26 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
One phone call brought Haliburton, Siakam together, turned the Pacers into a contender.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Outside of a handful of interactions in summer workouts, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton didn't know Pascal Siakam very well, when he learned Indiana might trade for the Toronto All-Star a year ago January. Haliburton and Siakam had exchanged pleasantries at Rico Runs — the well-known UCLA-based summer pickup games organized by longtime NBA assistant Rico Hines — but otherwise the pair hadn't often crossed paths. Now, with his front office considering a move to pair him with Siakam, Indiana's emerging franchise face thought it would be a good idea for the two to connect. Stepping out of a dinner during the team's mid-January swing through Atlanta last season, Haliburton talked with Siakam for roughly an hour. That phone call provided the building blocks of a relationship that's anchored the Pacers' run to the NBA Finals 17 months later. Re-live the Pacers unbelievable run to the 2025 NBA Finals with IndyStar's commemorative book 'I wanted to have a conversation, 'Hey, is this something you actually you want to do? Do you want to be here?'' Haliburton said Saturday, recounting the conversation. 'Because I think that the guys who have been a part of the nucleus of this group, we cherish this organization and what we have been able to build here. I think every team, when you ultimately win a championship or play at a high level, there's a trade that happens or you bring in somebody from the outside to be a part of it and you don't want to make the wrong move, right. 'If you go in for Pascal, you want it to be about the right things.' In Siakam, the Pacers were looking for an high-caliber complementary piece to Haliburton. At that point a two-time All-Star, Siakam had also garnered All-NBA second- and third-team nods during his career, and won a title with Toronto in 2019. And in Indiana, Siakam saw the forming momentum of a franchise rallying around a superlative young point guard. The kind of creative ball handler who could score in bunches but create for teammates with equal ease. 'We had a great conversation, and I think we just very much so aligned on wanting to win and that being the emphasis,' Haliburton said. 'I told him that, 'Hey, we could really play well together. I think I could get you the ball in space and allow you to do what you do.' He preached that there's many things that he could do to help me succeed.' And so it's been in the year and a half since a three-team trade brought Siakam to Indianapolis. After re-signing with the Pacers on a four-year contract worth close to $190 million in July, Siakam turned in the third All-Star season of his career this winter. He led Indiana in points and rebounds per game, and thus far is doing the same in the playoffs. He even narrowly edged Haliburton for Eastern Conference finals MVP, after Indiana dispatched the Knicks in six games. Together, their adaptable skillsets embody a team whose versatility has become one of its greatest strengths. These Pacers can play big or small, defend well, run the floor and find their offense all over it. Trading for Haliburton handed Indiana a franchise cornerstone around which it could build a winner. Siakam became the final, crucial piece to that puzzle. Together, they have positioned the Pacers as an NBA title contender for the first time in a quarter century, all of it starting with one forthright phone call between two men crucial to making it possible. 'The biggest thing that I can respect about him is just his work ethic,' Haliburton said. 'He comes in the gym, I know he's going to be there every day. I know the exact hoop he's going to be on, so I try not to take his hoop. I let him get his one-on-one work in. 'Seeing him work that hard makes me want to work harder, and I think that goes through our group. I love having him as a teammate.'
Associated Press
31 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Coastal Carolina sweeps Auburn to reach College World Series for 2nd time
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Jacob Morrison and Hayden Johnson combined to scatter eight hits and Coastal Carolina defeated Auburn 4-1 on Saturday to sweep the Auburn Super Regional and reach the College World Series for the second time. The Chanticleers will try to duplicate the national championship they won in 2016. Morrison allowed one run on six hits with six strikeouts in six innings. Johnson (5-0) came on in the seventh and pitched three scoreless innings with two hits and five strikeouts. Coastal Carolina's three-run seventh inning featured an RBI single by Walker Mitchell and a series of Auburn miscues led to the other two runs. With the scored tied 1-1 after Mitchell's single, he moved up a base on a single by Blagen Pado and scored from second on a throwing error by the first baseman on a ball hit by Ty Dooley. A walk by Ty Barrango loaded the bases and Coastal's third run scored when Wells Sykes was hit by a pitch. Mitchell drove in the final run with a single in the eighth inning. Cade Fisher (1-3) was on the mound in the sloppy seventh inning and allowed three runs, one earned, in 2 2/3 innings. Caden Bodine's 10th-inning home run early Saturday morning gave the Chanticleers a 7-6 victory in the first game. The Tigers played in the super regional round for the fifth time. They advanced to the College World Series in two of their previous four appearances. ___ AP college sports:
