Tyrese Haliburton's game-winner to open the 2025 NBA Finals did not just captivate Indianapolis; it ignited fans around the globe. International fans could barely contain their excitement as the Indiana Pacers star gave his team a stunning 1-0 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As the league typically does with big highlights, the NBA released reactions to Haliburton's shot from its different markets on social media. Whether it was Portugal, Korea or Spain, the announcers had the same stunned and animated reactions.
Expand Tweet
Despite the matchup featuring two teams from small markets, fans tuned in worldwide. Game 1 drew roughly 400,000 viewers, nearly double the amount that Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals accrued, according to Real Sports.
With Haliburton continuing his ridiculous postseason run, the player who was infamously deemed “overrated” by his peers continues to grow his fan base. His playoff highlight reel has many rooting for the Pacers to win the championship, even if many did not watch them play much in the regular season.
Tyrese Haliburton game-winner gives Pacers 1-0 lead
Article Continues Below
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates making a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter during game one of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center.
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Haliburton's now-iconic shot gave the Pacers a 1-0 lead over the Thunder and furthered their stellar road record to 7-2 in the 2025 postseason. The 25-year-old's fourth clutch basket of the playoffs also has many singling him out as the most clutch player in the league.
Haliburton ended Game 1 with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Despite struggling to score for most of the game, he managed to keep the Pacers within striking distance until they established a rhythm late in the game. The trend has become their status quo in the playoffs, winning multiple games after overcoming a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit.
Aside from Obi Toppin and Andrew Nembhard, who poured in 17 and 14 points, respectively, none of Indiana's players reached their scoring averages in Game 1. Pascal Siakam led the way with 19 points, but the team simply bided its time until striking at the last minute. The Pacers trailed the entire game until Haliburton's game-winner put them ahead 111-110 with 0.3 seconds remaining.
Many felt the Thunder's defense dominated most of the game, but the Pacers actually managed better numbers. Indiana held Oklahoma City to just 39.8 percent scoring, limiting every player other than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Rick Carlisle's smaller and quicker lineup forced Mark Daigneault to swap Cason Wallace into his starting lineup in Isaiah Hartenstein's place, an adjustment the 2024 Coach of the Year figures to ponder before Game 2.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Jaren Kawada is a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media.