Tyrese Haliburton did the impossible once again, burying a pull-up jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining to complete another storybook comeback for the Indiana Pacers as they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-110, in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals on Thursday (game log).
By The Numbers
Haliburton’s heroics made up for a relatively quiet scoring output, as he was held to 14 points while racking up his usual 10 assists. Pascal Siakam led a balanced effort for Indiana offensively by scoring 19 points in addition to grabbing 10 rebounds. All five Indiana starters scored in double figures, though none scored 20 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder played at his usual MVP level, scoring 38 points on 14-of-30 shooting. Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t get much help from his teammates in the scoring department, however, as Jalen Williams was OKC’s next leading scorer with 17 points while going 6-of-19 from the field. Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso were the only other scorers in double figures for the Thunder.
How It Happened
Down 108-99 with 2:52 remaining, the Pacers closed the game on a 12-2 run to secure what can only be described as an incomprehensible one-point win. According to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, teams that trailed by 7+ points with three minutes remaining in regulation or overtime were 0-121 in the NBA Finals since the play-by-play era began in 1997.
Make that 1-121.
HALI DOES IT AGAIN!!!
Pacers win Game 1 of the NBA Finals pic.twitter.com/7UIw7evesF
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) June 6, 2025
Haliburton’s game-winner gave the Pacers their first and only lead of the game, leaving Oklahoma City with a negligible amount of time to attempt even a game-winning lob. The Pacers trailed by as many as 15 points, which means they completed their fifth 15+ point comeback of the playoffs. According to NBA Communications, that’s the most by any one team in a postseason run since 1998.
“I think we’re just a really resilient group,” Haliburton said. “We just do a great job of sticking in and settling into the game. Through the course of the game, it felt like it could get ugly. I thought we did a great job of just walking them down.
“When (the deficit) gets to 15 points, you can panic. Or you can talk about, how can you get it to 10 points? How can you get it to five? We got down 15 and when we got it back to eight pretty fast, that gave us confidence.”
Turnover Troubles
The Pacers overcame a suffocating defensive presence from Oklahoma City, especially early, as the Thunder forced 19 turnovers to Indiana’s four in the first half and won the turnover battle 25-7 in total. Despite that, Oklahoma City could only muster an 11-4 advantage in points off turnovers. The Thunder had a handful of poor possessions following forced turnovers, often settling for ill-advised 3-pointers and lazy attempts at the rim.
“This game, if you look at all the numbers, it’s not the recipe to win,” Haliburton said. “We can’t turn the ball over that much. We’ve got to do a better job of beating gaps and do a better job of rebounding. We’ve got to do a better job all over the floor. But come May and June, it doesn’t matter how you get them, just get them.”
“Why would that change?” – Hali as his voice changed mid sentence 🤣 pic.twitter.com/X6kxUXjaKC
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) June 6, 2025
Stat Book
Indiana shot 39-of-82 (47.8 percent) from the field, making 18-of-39 (46.2 percent) attempts from beyond the arc. Oklahoma City shot 39-of-98 from the field, shooting 11-of-30 (36.7) on 3-point attempts. The Pacers also outrebounded the Thunder 56-39.
