Tyrese Haliburton has done it again.
The Indiana Pacers rallied from a 15-point fourth quarter deficit Thursday night to stun the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 111-110 win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Haliburton capped the rally with yet another game-winning jumper, this time with 0.3 seconds remaining on the clock.
The lead was Indiana’s first and only of the game. But 0.3 seconds was long enough to secure the win.
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The Thunder’s desperation inbounds alley-oop attempt on the other end failed, and the Pacers walked off the Paycom Center floor victorious in front of a stunned Oklahoma City crowd.
Haliburton has hit game winners against the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and now the Thunder these playoffs with shots that capped spectacular comeback wins. Thursday’s arrived on the biggest stage on basketball.
“We’ve just had to figure out how to win in so many different ways all year, past two years,” Haliburton said postgame. “So many weird, different ways. Really proud of this group. We’re a resilient group. We keep believing. We keep believing and we stay together. It ain’t over until it’s over.”
Haliburton finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the comeback victory that saw six different Pacers players score in double figures, none of them more than 17 points.
The Pacers win spoiled sensational night for league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who tallied 38 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in the losing effort.
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The rally stunned a Thunder team that was the best in the league in the regular season and entered Game 1 as a heavy favorite to win the NBA title following an impressive run through the Western Conference playoffs. For most of Thursday’s game, the Thunder looked very much like that heavy faf
OKC was in complete control — until it wasn’t
For most of Thursday’s game, the Thunder looked very much like that heavy favorite. Oklahoma City appeared well on its way to another trademark win anchored by its swarming defense. It opened the first quarter by forcing nine Pacers turnovers and allowing eight made Indiana field goals.
By halftime, Indiana’s turnover count (19) still exceeded its made field-goal tally (15) and the Thunder held a 57-45 lead. The Thunder had 18 more field-goal attempts (54) than the Pacers (36) at the break. There was little indicate from the first half that the Pacers could mount a rally
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But Indiana limited Oklahoma Cit to 37% shooting in the first half to keep within striking distance. And a halftime message from head coach Rick Carlisle appeared to resonate.
‘Stay with the process’
“The good thing is, 19 turnovers — they only had nine points [off turnovers],” Carlisle said in the Pacers’ halftime locker room, per video on the ESPN broadcast. “It’s not the end of the world. We’re right there. …
“We’ve had a lot of really good looks at 3s. Some of them haven’t gone in. Stay with the process, stay with the process.”
Indiana stayed with the process. And it worked. The Pacers limited their turnovers to just five in the second half. And they found their stroke from long distance.
The result in the third quarter was keeping pace with the Thunder, who struggled to extend their lead. The Pacers cut the Thunder edge to six points in the final seconds of the third quarter before a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 3 in the final second extended its edge back to 85-76.
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This story will be updated.
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