NBA Finals 2025: The Indiana Pacers Are Comfortable In Chaos

Forbes

21 hours ago

Any time there's a miraculous comeback or NBA playoff moment that leaves a national audience stunned, it's never just one play.
It's never just one guy, and never just one bucket that matters.
The Indiana Pacers, arguably more than any team this century, have proven that it takes an army to pull off the unthinkable. Above all else, that's what makes Indy special –
Tyrese Haliburton may wear the cape on most nights. But when the game tightens, Indiana becomes the Avengers – everybody's got a superpower, and nobody is afraid to save the day.
Digging deep as a collective unit is the only way a team overcomes the sloppiest offensive game of their season. Indy committed a turnover on 24.8% of their possessions, the team's highest rate of the entire season (99 games). It was the biggest reason they found themselves trailing by 15 in the fourth quarter.
From there, the Pacers demonstrated why they thrive in these environments – playing from behind, in a building so loud they can't hear coaches on the sideline or their own teammates on the floor.
The Thunder led Game 1 for 47 minutes and 59 seconds. To be more precise, Indy's first lead came with 0.3 seconds remaining. It was another instance of the Pacers being thieves in the night, leaving a road audience aghast:
The anatomy of such a robbery is never as simple as Haliburton drilling a game-winner, which he did once again, for the third time this postseason.
Almost everything had to go right for the Pacers to have a chance in that moment. That shouldn't get lost in the mix.
What I'm coining as the 'Indiana Second' doesn't come to fruition without everyone on the floor stacking positive plays down the stretch, staying calm and collected the entire time.
It doesn't happen without Myles Turner delivering three jumpers midway through the fourth quarter to keep Indy within striking distance.
It doesn't happen without Aaron Nesmith hitting a corner three with 2:38 left, on a possession that was seemingly dead.
And it doesn't happen without Andrew Nembhard relieving Haliburton of the ball-handling and shot creation duties – even for just a couple possessions.
Nembhard sizing up the league MVP and creating just a sliver of space for this step-back triple is what fueled the belief. With OKC's defensive pressure taking Haliburton out of certain actions, Indy had make something out of nothing.
But that's why the Pacers are playing June basketball in the first place. Every player in their rotation is comfortable making something out of nothing. And thriving in chaos:
It was the perfect example of why postseason basketball is so glorious. Late in a game, you can essentially scrap all of the fancy play designs or X's and O's. Moments like Thursday are often decided in isolation, or old fashioned one-on-one scenarios.
In many ways, it was the Pacers learning from their rough lessons in the first half – sometimes it's better to get off a clean shot instead of driving into traffic and risking a turnover.
Road playoff wins also require flawless help defense and execution down the stretch, especially against an historically great team that entered the Finals 80-18. There is no margin for error. Every five-man unit must be on a string, communicating switches and reading when to rotate on time.
Pascal Siakam's critical stop at the rim, with only 1:07 left, illustrated how much trust this group has in each other. With Gilgeous-Alexander trying to hunt Haliburton on a switch, the MVP gained a slight advantage and found a pathway to the rim. He was funneled directly into Siakam, who protected his yard with ferocity:
The comeback victory also doesn't happen without Siakam's opportunistic mindset on this possession below. Capitalizing on the slight moment Gilgeous-Alexander turns his head, Siakam crashes the glass after realizing Nembhard didn't have the greatest shot selection.
Having played in nearly 100 playoff games and surviving a long championship run with Toronto, Siakam is aware of the moment. He was fully aware OKC didn't have a center on the floor. And he knew how to exploit that weakness:
Eight times out of 10, the Thunder grab that rebound, set up their offense while burning the clock, and put the opponent away.
But not this opponent. Not in the year 2025.
Equally as important was Nembhard's textbook defensive stop on Gilgeous-Alexander with 12 seconds left. As the Thunder were gearing up for the killshot, Nembhard stayed in front, got physical, and showed his hands. He wasn't allowing SGA to get any closer.
He forced SGA to pull-up from 10 feet, which was still a terrific look for the NBA's scoring champion. But it was Nembhard stopping the drive short – along with Nesmith's gritty rebound to finish the possession – that gave Indy a chance to attack and steal the game:
The only thing Haliburton needed was a chance.
He knows the Pacers aren't perfect. He knows they don't fit the traditional or statistical profile of a Finals team.
But he also doesn't care. Because he knows, with the game on the line, he's their unflappable leader with ice in his veins. It doesn't matter who is defending him – he's getting off a quality look and leaving fans breathless while the ball rotates in the air:
The only thing the 2025 Pacers enjoy is cheating death. Each time they walk into enemy territory, they become the living embodiment of the 'Call an ambulance … but not for me!' advertisement.
Indiana has now survived four separate games in which they appeared dead in the water. At least once in every playoff series, they've had a 5% win probability or lower in the final three minutes.
Yet, it's the opposing team sulking and fuming in the locker room:
All of those ended in Pacer wins. Three of them resulted in silent road crowds, walking to the exits questioning the meaning of life.
At this point, you're more surprised when the Pacers don't pull off a miracle. They have made the extraordinary feel expected. And it appears this should no longer be considered luck. It's simply their identity – and they love it.
Thursday was the fifth time Indiana has overcome a 15+ point deficit in this postseason, which is the most since 1997 when the play-by-play era began.
Additionally, Indiana is now the fourth team in the play-by-play era to win a postseason game despite leading for 30 or fewer seconds. They joined the 1999 Spurs, 2001 Mavericks, and 2002 Lakers. Two of those three teams won the championship.
Before last night, the record was 13 seconds. Indiana simply said, 'hold my beer.'
While the Pacers are no stranger to these impressive feats, it elevates to a new level when the opponent is factored in. Oklahoma City, officially stamped as a juggernaut with the highest point differential in NBA history, was supposed to shut off Indiana's water.
These fourth quarter comebacks were supposed to be halted.
Before Thursday's Game 1, the Thunder hadn't lost a home game to an Eastern Conference team since March 12, 2024. Over 450 days ago. That loss, hilariously, was to the Pacers.
With Haliburton leading the way, nothing is out of reach for this team. No deficit is too large, and no opponent is too intimidating.
Per Inpredictable, this playoff run for Haliburton is practically off the charts in terms of clutch heroics. He's breaking statistical models and surpassing all-time playoff legends in Clutch Win Probability Added:
Haliburton might just be the NBA's clutch king
Inpredictable
If you didn't believe in the phrase Team of Destiny before this year, it's time to start buying in.
This might just be the season Indiana breaks through and claims its first championship. There's no other logical explanation to their shooting surges, particularly from Nembhard, who has lifted his 3-point efficiency by nearly 18 percentage points compared to the regular season.
All of their role players have taken leaps forward during the playoffs and contributed star-level moments, which is all a team needs in order to make a run.
At the same time, labeling the Pacers as the Team of Destiny actually does them a disservice. Because this is not a new trend. This isn't a random eight-week hot streak.
In reality, this is who Indiana has been since the calendar flipped. The Pacers are 47-18 over the last six months, which translates to a 59-win team over the course of a full season.
So not only does Indiana belong on this stage – they are showing why any discussion of this being a lackluster NBA Finals matchup was disrespectful. All it did was shine a light on who hasn't paid attention to the progress Indiana has made on both sides of the ball.
For all 48 minutes, the Pacers and Thunder proved (market) size doesn't matter, and neither do regions. Small markets, large markets, coastal city or Midwestern communities, the basketball will always be thrilling in June.
Especially when it includes a group like the Pacers, who fully lean into the underdog story and experience a frightening level of comfort while on the doorsteps of defeat.