The Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder squared off in an intense Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Thanks to Pacers point guard Tyrese Halliburton, Indiana won last night with a final score of 111-110, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
The game was largely controlled by the Thunder, who held a lead as large as 15 points. Entering the fourth quarter, the Thunder were up 85-76, but Indiana slowly but surely crept back into the game. With less than a minute remaining and the score at 110-107, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attempted a layup that was ultimately blocked by Pascal Siakam. The Pacers rushed back on offense, and Andrew Nembhard put up a three-point shot that he missed— Siakam got the offensive rebound and the putback layup to bring the deficit to one point. SGA, the league’s MVP, had a chance to stretch the lead back to three with 11 seconds left but missed a contested field goal. Halliburton, who had a “quiet” game, came in clutch with a mid-range jumper with 0.3 seconds left, sealing the victory for the Pacers.
Despite having 38 points, it was not enough for SGA and the Thunder to roll past the Pacers as most people expected. Part of that reason was their shooting efficiency. The Pacers held Oklahoma City to under 40% shooting as a team, which on their end shows how well they were playing defense. Oklahoma City also shot just 36.7% from the three-point line. One could argue that the Thunder beat themselves, especially since they held the lead for most of the game until Halliburton hit the game-winner. This win, however, shows the resiliency of the Pacers—a factor Oklahoma City cannot underestimate if they want to win the NBA Finals.
The Pacers’ comeback is interesting for several reasons. First, they had 25 turnovers compared to Oklahoma City’s seven. Typically, the team with fewer turnovers is more likely to win. However, despite the huge turnover difference, the Pacers out-rebounded the Thunder 56-39, with 13 of those being offensive boards. This shows that the Pacers created more second-chance opportunities, ultimately helping them overcome the deficit. Finally, the Pacers were more efficient shooting-wise, hitting 47.6% of their shots despite only taking 82 field goal attempts compared to the Thunder’s 98. The Thunder had more possession time, but the Pacers had better quality possessions.
The Pacers and Thunder square off for Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, June 8th, 2025 at 8:00 P.M. on ESPN/ABC
