Pacers Shock Thunder with Haliburton’s Go-Ahead Bucket Late in Game One of the 2025 NBA Finals
The Indiana Pacers shocked the Paycom Center arena Thursday night as they stole a 111-110 Game One victory on the road. Tyrese Haliburton’s 21-foot go-ahead jumper gave Indiana their first lead of the game in what had appeared to be a secure OKC win. Despite trailing the entire game and recording a postseason-high 25 turnovers, Indiana’s magical fourth quarter surge improved their postseason road record to 7-2 and pushed them one game closer to their first NBA title in franchise history. The Oklahoma City Thunder will be left wondering: Where did they go wrong?
Oklahoma City’s First Half Dominance
OKC opened the game on a 7-0 run and appeared to have the game plan to shut down Indiana. Picking up Indiana’s ball-handler full court off the inbounds pass, the Thunder made it clear they wanted to use defenders Alex Caruso and Luguentz Dort to slow down Indiana and control the pace of the game. As they began pulling away, OKC entered the second quarter with a 29-20 lead. Sparked by a 9-0 run late in the second quarter, OKC took a 57-45 lead at the half with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading all scorers with 19 points. Indiana's 19 first-half turnovers disrupted their offense, failing to adjust to OKC’s tenacious defense.
Indiana’s Second Half Surge
With a back-and-forth third quarter, Indiana began picking up steam. Behind Pascal Siakam’s eight-point fourth quarter, a 31-point Indiana quarter to cut the margin down to six with 17.1 seconds remaining in the third. SGA then quickly nailed a three-pointer and extended OKC’s lead back to nine entering the fourth quarter, up 85-76. Oklahoma City put up a quick 9-4 run in the first 2:18 to give them a 15-point lead, their largest of the night. However, Indiana’s comeback heroics would continue as they would outscore OKC 32-16 in the final 9:42 of the game. Despite SGA’s 12-point fourth quarter and 38-point night, the Thunder offense would go cold down the stretch with just four of the final 16 points from the rest of the team. As the Pacers rallied back, six straight SGA points gave OKC a 108-99 lead with 2:52 left. Yet, back-to-back Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard threes would cut the lead to just three. With 48.1 seconds remaining, Indiana trailed 110-109. After a mid-range miss from SGA, Tyrese Haliburton would go the length of the floor and hit his fifth career go-ahead bucket in the postseason, giving Indiana a 111-110 victory.
Where Does Oklahoma City Go From Here?
Indiana’s shocking comeback victory on the road stunned the Thunder, dominating from the opening tip, only to surrender their first lead with 0.3 seconds remaining. Forcing 25 turnovers and winning the free-throw battle, OKC will look back at the rebounding battle and their fourth quarter offense as primary reasons for their collapse. Throughout the postseason, Oklahoma City’s performances have been determined by the scoring abilities of players other than SGA. Having only three other players in double figures, they struggled from the field as a team, shooting just 39% on the day. While the Thunder remain a betting favorite in this series, Indiana has made things very interesting and has perhaps shown the Thunder’s vulnerability. Game Two is scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on ABC, as OKC looks to bounce back from their devastating Game One defeat.
