final minute of Game 1 of the NBA Finals
ABC News / NBA
The final minute in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City was historic. Until Game 1, NBA teams trailing by 9+ points in the final 3 minutes of an NBA Finals game were 0-182 dating back to 1971. Haliburton saw that stat and said ‘bet’ while draining a 21-foot shot with 0.3 seconds left on the clock as OKC and Pacers fans alike were screaming at their TVs.
Around the country, however, people were screaming at their TVs for a very different reason a few seconds earlier. For reasons that I simply cannot begin to fathom, many local TV affiliates cut away from the live action during the final minute of the game.
ABC News affiliate WPTA in Fort Wayne, Indiana cut away from the live action in Game 1 to highlight… a Game 1 viewing party and preview the evening news. As the team was fighting for the W on the court.
Whose decision was it to cut away from the action? We don’t know. But here is a clip from Awful Announcing of how it all went down and it’s a miracle that WPTA didn’t immediately issue an apology on social media after this:
WPTA, the ABC affiliate in Fort Wayne, Indiana, cut away from Game 1 coverage to tease the upcoming news.
Incidentally, one of the segments being teased was a Game 1 Watch Party. pic.twitter.com/PXF5xm81VQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 6, 2025
As was astutely pointed out on Barstool Sports, Indiana boasts the slogan “in 49 other states, it’s just basketball but this is Indiana!” And in a stat that prides itself entirely on basketball, corn, and whiskey, you simply cannot make this mistake.
I’m never one to advocate for someone losing a job over a single mistake but you at least gotta bench whoever the decision maker was here… What would you do? Let us know in the Facebook comments!