Oklahoma. Tyrese Haliburton and the resilient Indiana Pacers pulled off another last-second comeback, this time on the NBA’s biggest stage.
Haliburton’s 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining gave Indiana its first and only lead of the game, stunning the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals after a comeback for the ages.
“Man, basketball’s fun,” Haliburton said. “Winning is fun.”
Especially when it ends like this.
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The Pacers turned the ball over 25 times, trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter against a team with the league’s best home record, and had no answers for NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led all scorers with 38 points.
But they had the league’s new Mr. Big Shot.
Haliburton has now delivered clutch moments in every round of these playoffs:
- April 29**:** Indiana trailed Milwaukee 118-111 with 34.6 seconds left in overtime. Haliburton scored with 1.4 seconds remaining, and the Pacers won 119-118.
- May 6**:** Indiana was down 119-112 to Cleveland with 48 seconds left. Haliburton hit the game-winner with 1.1 seconds remaining in a 120-119 victory.
- May 21**:** Indiana trailed New York 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left in regulation. Haliburton tied it with a buzzer-beater to force overtime. Indiana prevailed 138-135.
Now, add Game 1 of the Finals to that list.
“We’ve had lots of experience in these kinds of games,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Pacers’ 15-point comeback with 9:42 remaining marked the largest fourth-quarter rally in an NBA Finals game since June 2, 2011, when Carlisle’s Dallas Mavericks overcame the same margin to beat the Miami Heat.
And here he is again, orchestrating another Finals stunner.
“That’s a really good team,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Credit them not only for tonight but for their whole run. They’ve had so many games that seemed improbable. They just play with great spirit and keep coming. They keep playing.”
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 19 points. Obi Toppin added 17, Myles Turner scored 15, and Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard each finished with 14.
Jalen Williams scored 17 and Lu Dort added 15 for Oklahoma City, which entered the night 36-1 at home when leading by at least 15 points this season.
Game 2 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder led by 15 early in the fourth when Carlisle called a timeout and subbed out all five players, searching for a spark. He got it. The Pacers responded with a 15-4 run over the next 3:26, cutting the deficit to 98-94 on Turner’s three-pointer with 6:16 remaining.
They weren’t done.
And with one final play, they found a way. Again.
“We had control of the game for the most part,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But it’s a 48-minute game. And they teach you that lesson more than anyone else in the league the hard way.”
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