It took only six seconds for Tyrese Haliburton to unleash his greatness, give the Indiana Pacers enduring hope and fluster the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Haliburton made a 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds left to secure a 111-110 win over the Thunder on Thursday in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and tie an NBA Finals record for the biggest fourth-quarter comeback since 1971 (15 points). That moment marked the only time the Pacers led in the game. That moment marked the fourth time in this postseason that Haliburton made a game-winning bucket. That moment illustrated why the long-shot Pacers have a legitimate chance in upsetting the Western Conference’s top seed entering Game 2 on Sunday and beyond.
The Thunder might have the NBA’s league MVP with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander punishing defenders with efficient finishes, improved 3-point shooting and a knack for drawing fouls. The Thunder might have the NBA’s best defensive team with pesky wing defenders who compete with physicality and force turnovers.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton celebrates with teammate Aaron Nesmith after scoring the winning basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 5, 2025 at Paycom Center.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton celebrates with teammate Aaron Nesmith after scoring the winning basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals on Thursday night at Paycom Center.
Morgan Givens/NBAE via Getty Images
As OKC painfully learned in its Game 1 loss, however, that won’t be enough against a Pacers team that refuses to quit and an elite point guard that often displays the best version of himself in the game’s most crucial moments. The Pacers scoff at those who say they advanced to last year’s Eastern Conference finals and this year’s NBA Finals because their opponents suffered key injuries. Haliburton has taken exception to The Athletic’s anonymous player poll that ranked him as the league’s most overrated player.
“After you have a run last year, get swept in the Eastern Conference finals and all the conversation is that you don’t belong there and how you lucked out to get there and that it was a fluke, guys are going to be [ticked] off,” Haliburton told reporters. “We’re going to spend the summer [ticked] off. Then you come into the year with all the talk around how it was a fluke and you have an unsuccessful first couple of months, and now it’s easy for everybody to clown you and talk about you in a negative way. I think as a group, we take everything personal.”
Haliburton capped off a near-triple-double in points (14), rebounds (10) and assists (six) with a game-winning shot that captured why this year’s NBA Finals series makes for compelling viewing even with two small-market teams. Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished brilliantly otherwise with 38 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, missed a pull-back jumper off a spin move while the Thunder held a 110-109 lead with 11 seconds remaining. After Indiana forward Aaron Nesmith grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Haliburton with six seconds left, he showcased once again what makes him so valuable when the clock winds down with the game in the balance. Indiana coach Rick Carlisle declined to call timeout amid his trust in Haliburton.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton takes the winning shot in the final seconds of Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on June 5, 2025.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton takes the winning shot in the final seconds of Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on Thursday.
Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
Just before approaching halfcourt, Haliburton drove toward the right side to probe both his defender (Thunder forward Aaron Wiggins) and his teammates. With no other defender conceding ground to enable a timely pass, Haliburton drove past Wiggins and stopped abruptly. Before Wiggins could contest, Haliburton pulled up and sank the 21-footer. That sequence should evoke reminders of his previous clutch plays.
“I’m obviously confident in my ability,” Haliburton told reporters. “I feel like if I can get to that spot, I’m very comfortable there. It’s a shot that I’ve worked on a million times.”
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks, Haliburton forced overtime by making a long 2-point jumper instead of a 3 after mistakenly stepping on the 3-point line. Haliburton lived up to his choking gesture to the Knicks’ crowd by ensuring the Pacers prevailed in overtime. In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Haliburton capped off the Pacers’ 14-point comeback with a step-back 3. In Game 5 of the Pacers’ first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Haliburton drove past Giannis Antetokounmpo for a series-sealing layup in overtime.
“We just try to get the ball in his hands as much as possible in those situations,” Carlisle told reporters.
Ironically, Haliburton doesn’t typically operate like a score-first point guard.
He is considered the NBA’s best passing point guard for averaging a postseason-best 9.5 assists per game. The Pacers have five other players who average double-digit scoring, partly because of Haliburton’s passing brilliance. That’s fine. Haliburton excels more at elevating his teammates than himself. Haliburton shrunk, however, in other playoff games. He has shot below 40% in four postseason games and scored in single digits in two of those.
Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin soars to the basket as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams defends in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 5, 2025.
Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin soars to the basket as Thunder forward Jalen Williams defends in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on Thursday.
Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
“I'm at my best when I'm obviously more aggressive. But I think every game calls for something different,” Haliburton told reporters. “I'm not perfect. I have bad games. I'll have a game where I shoot five shots, and I pass the ball too much. I'll have a game where I shoot too much, probably could have passed a little more.”
Not so against the Thunder in Game 1. When the stakes are high, Haliburton often showcases his creativity and competitiveness. He doesn’t fret about missed shots. He listens to feedback from his coaches and trainers that the most selfish thing he can do is to play too unselfishly. He maintains his empowering leadership to give teammates confidence that the Pacers always can prevail in crunch time.
Unlike his dramatic shot in Game 1 against the Knicks, however, Haliburton’s game-winner Thursday against OKC should not foreshadow the series outcome. The Thunder have the most complete team in the NBA. They will surely reduce their turnovers (19). They will likely see Jalen Williams (6-for-19) and Chet Holmgren (2-for-9) rectify their poor shooting. As Haliburton added, “This is not the recipe to win.” The Pacers committed 19 of their 24 turnovers in the first half en route to a 57-45 halftime deficit. Indiana also trailed by 15 points with 9:42 left in the fourth quarter.
In his fifth NBA season, the 25-year-old Haliburton also hasn’t shown that he can consistently string together dominant scoring performances. Nonetheless, the Pacers can offset that with Pascal Siakam’s scoring efficiency (19 points) and off-ball cutting, Andrew Nembhard’s defensive effectiveness, the team’s stellar 3-point shooting (46.2%) and swift pace. Should the rest of this series become close in crunch time, however, the Pacers can trust that Haliburton will deliver in the same manner as he did in Game 1.
“This group is a resilient group,” Haliburton told reporters. “We don’t give up until there is zero on the clock.”
Mark Medina is an NBA contributor for Athlon Sports. Follow him onX,Blue Sky,Instagram,Facebook andThreads.