NBA FINALS: INDY Shocks OKC Behind Haliburton’s Game-Winner to Draw First Blood

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

What in the world just happened?

Indiana never led the whole game. But what mattered the most was how you delivered the killer blow in the most crucial stretch of a see-saw affair.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Indiana Pacers did the unthinkable once again, stunning the Oklahoma City Thunder with a demoralizing 13-4 closing run to steal Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 111-110, on June 6, 2025.

After playing catch-up for the majority of the game, the Pacers dealt the fatal strike when Tyrese Haliburton buried the game-winning perimeter jump shot that gave Indiana their first-ever lead of the ball game with only 0.3 seconds left.

The Thunder had a chance to execute a miracle lob play, but Alex Caruso’s looping pass directed to the rim got swatted away by Indiana’s premier center Myles Turner.

Every OKC fan who went to the Paycom Center was in disbelief, with cameras rolling shocked faces of the blue nation after the come-from-behind effort pulled off by the visiting Eastern Conference kings.

Oklahoma was looking to ice the game after leading by nine points, 108-99, in the remaining 2:40 of the fourth and final quarter.

However, little did they know that the Pacers still had enough gas left in the tank to replicate their comeback magic, kicked off by Aaron Nesmith’s much-needed three-pointer from the left corner that trimmed their deficit to six points.

From that point, Indiana smelled blood. It was a familiar territory for them. After frustrating Milwaukee, Cleveland, and New York with a series of insane comebacks, the Pacers knew it was go time, and they capped off the game with confidence and style through multiple defensive stops and clutch buckets.

After a miss from Jaylen Williams, Andrew Nembhard took Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in an isolation island at the top of the key to shift things up to a one-possession ball game with a trey, 108-105.

SGA was able to answer back with a layup on the other end, but Nembhard countered quickly with two free throws after getting fouled in his drive attempt.

Disaster happened in the final 1:10 of the fourth as Oklahoma failed to add more points on board and could only witness how the Pacers dissected them with a Pascal Siakam layup to make it a one-point game, 110-109.

Oklahoma had two chances to increase their lead, but Williams’ flip shot from the left side and SGA’s jumper all rimmed out. As soon as Nesmith grabbed the board, Indiana’s head coach Rick Carlisle decided not to call a timeout and trusted his guys that they would deliver in the final 9.5 seconds of the game.

The ball immediately went to Haliburton’s hands, who rushed to his sweet spot in the right elbow and cashed the game-winning jumper over the outstretched defense of Cason Wallace.

The Pacers came back from a 15-point deficit after trialing the game for 47 minutes. Haliburton’s game-winner in the final seconds of the fourth was the only time that they had the lead, a testament to their clutch DNA and moniker as the NBA’s “Comeback Kings”.

Siakam led the Pacers with a huge double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Haliburton, the man of the hour, had a near triple-double of 14 markers, 10 boards, and six assists.

Indiana’s balanced offensive attack was also in full display as Obi Toppin, Turner, Nembhard, and Nesmith chipped in 17, 15, 14, and 10 points, respectively.

On the other hand, the Western Conference champions received an MVP performance from SGA who fired 38 points on 30 shots, but needed more help as Williams, his co-star, dropped 17 but shot an inefficient 6/19 from the field.

Can the Thunder bounce back and level the series at home? Or will Indiana continue to surprise the league and erase Oklahoma’s home-court advantage? All these will be known in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on June 9, 2025.