The Indiana Pacers have taught a simple lesson this postseason to the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and now Oklahoma City Thunder: it's not over until it's over.
With 0.3 seconds left, Tyrese Haliburton hit a deep 2-pointer to put the Pacers up 111-110 over OKC in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, winning the game.
Indiana trailed by 15 points earlier in the quarter and was down by seven points with three minutes left.
In the first quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a layup, and the Thunder took an opening lead. The Pacers managed to tie things up later in the quarter, but OKC went on a run, leading for 47 minutes.
More specifically, the Pacers did not hold a lead for 47 minutes and 59.7 seconds. However, for the final 0.3 seconds of the game, they took a lead, and clearly that's all that matters.
Statistician Keerthika Uthayakumar pointed out that the previous record for "shortest lead" by the winning team was held by the 1999 San Antonio Spurs, who held the lead over the New York Knicks for only ten seconds in Game 2 of the Finals.
The Pacers pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks in NBA history, setting the stage for perhaps the most thrilling Finals in NBA history, and have announced to the league that the mighty Thunder have a weakness.
Game 2 will keep the series in Oklahoma City, tipping off on Sunday night.
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