OKLAHOMA CITY — Each Indiana Pacers comeback throughout this postseason has followed the same formula: erasing a late, double-digit deficit and punctuated by a clutch shot from Tyrese Haliburton that leaves a stunned opponent in its aftermath.
The latest addition to Indiana’s résumé as the comeback kids of these NBA playoffs occurred Thursday night, when the Pacers shocked the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 111-110 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals after Haliburton scored the winning shot with 0.3 left.
Haliburton’s shot is the latest winner in an NBA Finals game since Michael Jordan’s buzzer-beater for the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, according to ESPN Research.
“As a group, we never think the game is over, ever,” Haliburton said. “Honestly speaking, ever.”
The Pacers trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter, the fifth time this postseason they have overcome a deficit that large and the most by any team in a single postseason since 1998.
Indiana’s first lead with 0.3 left was the latest into any Finals game over the past 50 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
And Haliburton was at the center of it again, hitting his fourth winning or tying shot in the final five seconds of a game this postseason.
“I don’t know what you say about it, but I know that this group is a resilient group,” Haliburton said. “And we don’t give up until it’s 0.0 on the clock.”
Indiana won despite 24 turnovers, its most in this postseason. The Pacers gave up 38 points to Thunder and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and listened to a raucous road crowd work itself into a frenzy for most of the game, an environment Haliburton acknowledged led to some first-half “jitters” and to some of the turnovers.
In the first half, Indiana turned the ball over 19 times, the most by any team in a half in the NBA Finals in the past 35 years.
“If you look at all the numbers, it’s not the recipe to win,” Haliburton said. “We can’t turn the ball over that much. We have to do a better job of being in gaps, rebounding, all over the floor.
“But come May and June, it doesn’t matter how you get them, just get them.”
The Pacers had six players in double figures. Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard finished with 14 points. Obi Toppin had 17 points and hit five 3s off the bench. Pascal Siakam led all Indiana scorers with 19 points.
Yet, Indiana still trailed by 15 with 9:42 left, matching the largest fourth-quarter comeback in a Finals game since the Dallas Mavericks did it in Game 2 against the Miami Heat in 2011. Rick Carlisle was the head coach of both teams.
“We just said, ‘Let’s just keep chipping away at the rock,'” Carlisle said Thursday. “We had a lot of experience in these kinds of games, and our guys have a real good feel for what it’s all about, giving ourselves a chance. We got fortunate but made plays.”
The Pacers continued to cut into the Thunder advantage with some clutch 3-pointers from Myles Turner, Nembhard and Toppin, setting up a one-point game during a replay review with 22.1 seconds remaining.
During the stoppage, Carlisle instructed his team to not call a timeout and allow the Thunder to set their defense if the Pacers got the ball back after a defensive stop. Nembhard’s defense helped lead to a missed Gilgeous-Alexander jumper, and, after a rebound by Aaron Nesmith, the Pacers knew to get the ball to Haliburton.
“I swear as soon as he jumped up to shoot, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s good,'” Nesmith said. “Every time it’s in his hands in those situations, I just think it’s good.”
It marked the fourth time the Pacers have pulled off an improbable comeback during this playoff run.
In Game 5 of the first round, they trailed the Milwaukee Bucks 118-111 with 34.6 seconds left in overtime and won the game 119-118. In Game 2 of the second round, the Pacers were down 119-112 with 48 seconds left against the Cleveland Cavaliers but won the contest 120-119. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, they trailed the Knicks 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left in regulation before winning 138-135 in overtime.
And now after Thursday’s rally, the Pacers have a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals, their first series lead in the Finals in franchise history. Game 2 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
“It is a 48-minute game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “[The Pacers] teach you that lesson more than anyone else in the league, the hard way.”
