For the first 47 minutes, 40 seconds of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander thoroughly outplayed Tyrese Haliburton in the matchup of star point guards.
But as Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after Indiana’s remarkable comeback to beat the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, it’s a 48-minute game. And, in those final 20 seconds Thursday night, Haliburton and the Pacers changed the narrative … again.
First, it was Gilgeous-Alexander — who had 38 points but was 14-for-30 shooting — missing a clean midrange jumper, his specialty, that would’ve given the Thunder a three-point lead with 10 seconds left. And then, it was Haliburton again playing the role of road spoiler, hitting a circus shot that might not have been quite as spectacular as his high-bouncing miracle at Madison Square Garden on May 21. But, unlike that shot, this shot won the game for the Pacers in regulation.
As a result, Indiana — which never led until Haliburton’s shot from just inside the 3-point arc dropped through the hoop with 0.3 seconds remaining — somehow left the Paycom Center with a 111-110 victory over the heavily favored Thunder, and injected a massive amount of life into this series.
For much of this game, the Thunder were the ones dictating the terms of engagement. They forced Indiana — typically great at taking care of the ball — into a team that was flinging the ball all over to the tune of 24 giveaways, compared to only six for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder took 16 more shots than the Pacers, but the Pacers hit a bunch of 3s – including 6-for-10 in the fourth quarter — and the Thunder, as they are prone to do, missed a whole bunch of them. That allowed Indiana — a team that has pulled off one remarkable comeback after another in these playoffs — to find itself in prime position once again.
And, like he has so many times in these playoffs, Haliburton delivered in the biggest moment.
There are still plenty of reasons to think Oklahoma City is the deserved favorite in this series. But the second half of this game revealed a blueprint: The Pacers took far better care of the ball, and their high-octane offense took off. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, got into a rut offensively, and Gilgeous-Alexander himself had a couple of critical misses in the closing moments.
Because of it, like they did in both the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Eastern Conference finals in New York, the Pacers have claimed a Game 1 road victory.
And, as a result, we have ourselves a series. — Tim Bontemps
The Thunder need 48 minutes of their NBA-best defense, not 24
The first half displayed the Thunder’s defensive fury at its finest, forcing 19 turnovers while holding the Pacers to 45 points. But it didn’t hold up in the second half.
Maybe it just took the Pacers a couple of quarters to adjust to the Thunder’s defensive pressure, but Indiana looked comfortable after halftime, exploding for 66 points in the second half — 35 in the fourth quarter, punctuated by Haliburton’s game-winner — to pull off the upset.
Indiana committed just six turnovers in the second half, too, playing their style of fast-paced, under-control offense. — Tim MacMahon
A new guide to another ridiculous Pacers comeback: cut the turnovers
If this postseason has taught us anything, it’s that the Pacers can never be counted out. After trailing by 15 points in the fourth quarter, Indiana stormed back to steal Game 1 on yet another game-winning shot from Haliburton with 0.3 remaining, the only lead the Pacers had all game.
It’s become a series staple for the Pacers during this postseason run: a fourth-quarter comeback that has demoralized each of their previous three opponents.
Indiana’s comeback this time was fueled by its usual suspects, some clutch three-point shots from Myles Turner, Obi Toppin and Aaron Nesmith, and taking better care of the ball after record-setting turnovers in the first half.
And then, of course, Haliburton hit another big shot to seal the deal. — Jamal Collier
2:10
Pacers take Game 1 after miraculous 4th-quarter comeback
The Pacers erase a 15-point deficit that ends with a Tyrese Haliburton buzzer-beater to take Game 1.
What to watch for in Game 2
Game 2: Pacers at Thunder (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC)
Can Indiana do it again? This is the second consecutive series in which the Pacers have stolen Game 1 on the road, and each of the last two times it happened, they also won Game 2 to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
In general, teams that lose Game 1 at home are heavy favorites to even the series. Overall, since 2021, higher seeds in that situation have gone 21-7 in Game 2 with a plus-12.1 point differential.
In these playoffs, teams that have lost Game 1 at home have outscored opponents by an average of 12 points per game in Game 2. There have been more than enough blowout wins (including Oklahoma City beating the Denver Nuggets by 43 in Game 2 this season) to outweigh just three Game 2s that have gone to road teams — Indiana twice and the Knicks over the Boston Celtics in the second round.
In part, it’s an inevitable product of human nature. Road teams have already accomplished their goal by assuring a split of the first two games, giving them home-court advantage in the series.
Credit the Pacers for not being satisfied and taking leads that proved insurmountable. Doing so against a Thunder team that has lost consecutive games just twice all season will be the toughest test yet . — Kevin Pelton
