NBA world stunned by latest Indiana Pacers miracle against OKC

Tyrese Haliburton was the hero yet again as the Pacers stormed back to stun Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Tyrese Haliburton hit the game-winner yet again as the Indiana Pacers stormed back to stun Oklahoma City 111-110 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Pacers should’ve been out of the game at halftime. But they weren’t, which was fitting for a team that has time and time again defied the odds this postseason.

We shouldn’t have been surprised. But we were.

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After all, this is a team that has now come back from deficits of 15 points or more five times in the playoffs — the most in a single postseason since 1998.

And they are led by a player in Haliburton who, no matter how quiet he has been or how few of his shots are falling, will not shy away from the moment.

So, like he did on the road at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks and earlier to eliminate the Cavaliers, Haliburton nailed a jumper with just 0.3 seconds on the clock to snatch the opening game on the road.

Tyrese Haliburton came up clutch yet again. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

With it, Haliburton brought up his third go-ahead shot in the final five seconds of a game this postseason — the most by any player in a single playoff run in the last quarter century according to The Athletic’s James Jackson.

Haliburton only had 14 points in the game to go with 10 rebounds and six assists, but it doesn’t matter. That final shot is all anyone will remember.

Meanwhile, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had what should have been the headline performance of the night with 38 points, five rebounds, three assists and just as many steals.

But instead it was wasted as the Pacers, who committed 19 turnovers in the first half alone, and somehow clawed their way back into the game.

All up Indiana turned the ball over 24 times, 18 more than Oklahoma City’s six. And yet, they won, despite also being behind 108-99 with less than three minutes left.

Teams in the NBA Finals who trailed by nine-plus points with fewer than three minutes remaining were 0-182 since 1971 before Friday. Now, they are 1-182.

Tonight was only the fourth time in NBA postseason history where a team had at least 18 more turnovers than their opponent

...first time since 2008
... first time in Finals since 1970

And the first time a team WON THE GAME with at least 18 more turnovers than their opponent.

— Law Murray 🚨 (@LawMurrayTheNU) June 6, 2025

NBA teams were 0-121 when down by 7 or more points in the final 3 minutes of regulation in the NBA Finals over the last 28 postseasons.

They are now 1-121.

— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) June 6, 2025

There was talk in the lead-up to the series that Oklahoma City could opt for a smaller line-up against fast-paced Indiana and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault did just that, moving Isaiah Hartenstein out of the starting five and promoting second-year guard Cason Wallace.

The Thunder had already found plenty of success in the postseason with Wallace alongside their traditional starters, outscoring opponents 72-50 in 26 minutes according to The Athletic’s Law Murray, and opened up an early 7-0 lead on Friday.

That was off the back of their ‘Big Three’ though as Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren all got on the board early.

It was another big moment for Haliburton to stand up in. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

It would have been easy for the Pacers to fall into an even greater hole from that point, as the far more experienced Nuggets and Timberwolves did at times in their series against the Thunder while on the road.

Instead, having started the game 0-for-4 from the field, Indiana responded with a 10-3 run to tie up the game.

For a Thunder team with few weaknesses, the Pacers were at least finding some success when the opportunity presented itself to switch Pascal Siakam onto the much smaller Wallace, with the Indiana forward scoring two early buckets because of it.

Hartenstein entered the game for Wallace with five minutes left in the first quarter and had an immediate impact, setting a screen for Gilgeous-Alexander to find an open driving lane to the rim.

It was the start of a highly productive stint for the Thunder big, who had seven points, two rebounds and a steal on the box score in just five minutes to complement his effective screen-setting.

In some ways, Indiana was fortunate to only be trailing 29-20 after the first quarter despite turning it over nine times given that is usually a recipe for disaster against this Oklahoma City team.

It was just that the Thunder weren’t as clinical as usual in capitalising on those turnovers.

This year’s NBA Finals were a testament to the value of quality depth, with both the Thunder and Pacers going 10 players deep in their rotation as the second quarter got underway.

Oklahoma City even gave rookie Ajay Mitchell early minutes, having used him sparingly in the playoffs.

Perhaps there was a reason why as Mitchell missed three shots at one point in the space of 30 seconds before falling for a pump fake from Haliburton, who proceeded to make a 3-pointer that cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 39-33 and prompted Daigneault to take a time-out.

It didn’t come easy for the Thunder. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Mitchell was substituted out of the game while Gilgeous-Alexander, having started the second quarter on the bench, came in as Daigneault looked to keep the Pacers from building any momentum.

At that point, the Thunder looked to be in a comfortable position but it wasn’t showing on the scoreboard, largely due to the fact they had shot just 36.1 per cent from the floor.

There were still over four minutes left in the quarter and Indiana already had 14 turnovers, marking a season-high for the Pacers at the worst possible time, and it only got worse from there.

Indiana ended the half with 19 turnovers, having averaged just 12 during the regular season as the third-best team in the league at taking care of the ball.

I mean, I can’t even believe this number: 19 first-half turnovers for the Pacers. NINETEEN. That’s rough in a full game. That’s egregious in an NBA Finals half.

OKC has taken 18 more shots than Indy. SGA has more FGA (18) than Indy has shots made (15).

— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) June 6, 2025

Substandard shooting from the Thunder was the only thing keeping the Pacers in the game, with Gilgeous-Alexander at his aggressive best attempting 18 field goals in the first half alone on his way to 19 points.

The MVP was also a menace on the defensive end, as was Alex Caruso who had three steals to go with seven points, two rebounds and a plus-minus of +14 in 13 minutes off the bench.

Oklahoma City’s 11 steals all up at halftime were also the most in any Finals half in the play-by-play era dating back to 1998.

As much as the Pacers were in a fortunate position given their turnover-prone first half, they still desperately needed to answer back early in the third quarter.

Instead, they committed another three turnovers in the first five minutes while Wallace, who was targeted in defensive mismatches early in the game, flipped the script on Indiana as he attacked Haliburton.

The Thunder had opened up a 67-55 lead at that point and to their credit, despite the turnovers, the Pacers were able to hang around and looked to have cut the deficit to just six points late entering the fourth.

Jalen Williams after scoring. William Purnell/Getty Images/AFP

But a big Gilgeous-Alexander triple brought up 28 points for the MVP and pushed Oklahoma City’s lead out to 85-76.

It just seemed like it was going to be that kind of night for the Pacers. As much as they threatened to make it a game, every time Indiana inched closer Oklahoma City responded almost immediately.

Of course, this Pacers team has a history of comebacks in the postseason so the Thunder couldn’t afford to come out in the fourth quarter complacent. And they didn’t.

Instead, Oklahoma City turned up the heat as four quick points from Williams, including an emphatic dunk, gave the Thunder a 94-79 lead.

But again, just as the Pacers looked to be on the canvas they fired back again, this time going on a 9-2 run to force the Thunder into a time-out as their buffer shrunk to eight points with just as many minutes left.

Indiana then closed the gap even further to just four points as Oklahoma City’s execution at the rim left much to be desired, with Holmgren missing a driving layup.

So, it was left to the MVP to show his teammates how it is done as an aggressive Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the rim for the finish.

Down 108-99, a pair of Pacers 3-pointers made it a three-point game entering the final two minutes.

But a crucial Dort block turned into a Gilgeous-Alexander layup on the other end as the OKC continued to just hold off a frantic Pacers comeback — until Haliburton had the final say.

Originally published as NBA world stunned by latest Indiana Pacers miracle against OKC