Thunder collapse late as
Haliburton's buzzer-beater lifts Pacers to Game 1 win
[June 06, 2025]
By CLIFF BRUNT
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Things were going as expected for the heavily
favored Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
They forced the normally efficient Indiana Pacers into 19 turnovers
in the first half to lead by 12 at the break. The advantage swelled
to 15 early in the fourth quarter, and it looked like the Thunder
were off to one of their usual blowout victories.
They fell apart late, then Tyrese Haliburton hit a mid-range dagger
in the final second that gave Indiana a 111-110 victory on Thursday
night.
“I thought we were pretty good,” Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
said. “We had control of the game for the most part of it. It is a
48-minute game. They (Pacers) teach you that lesson more than anyone
else in the league, the hard way.”
The homecourt advantage Oklahoma City fought all season to gain
vanished in a game it dominated for three quarters. The collapse
wasted a 38-point effort by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Now,
the Thunder will be under pressure heading into Game 2 on Sunday.
“We’ve just got to focus on being better,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
“The series isn’t first to one, it’s first to four. We have four
more games to get, they have three. That’s just where we are. We've
got to understand that and we've got to get to four before they get
to three (more) if we want to win the NBA championship.”
After Oklahoma City had Indiana's offense out of sorts in the first
half, the Pacers committed just five turnovers in the second.
“I thought they loosened us up a little bit,” Thunder coach Mark
Daigneault said. “They took better care of the ball. Obviously, I’m
sure that was a huge theme for them coming in and at the half.”
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Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) shoots a 3-pointer
against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the
second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series Thursday,
June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
This isn't the first time this has happened to the
Thunder this postseason. The Thunder lost a game they largely
controlled in Game 1 of the second-round series against the Denver
Nuggets. Aaron Gordon's 3-pointer gave Denver a 121-119 win.
Oklahoma City responded and won the series 4-3. The Thunder believe
they can use that experience to their advantage.
“We lost at the end of the day,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We lost
Game 1. We’ve lost Game 1 before. On the other side of that, we came
out a better team. That’s our goal. That’s our mentality, to try to
learn a lesson from the loss, like we always do, and move forward
and be better.”
This wasn't new for Indiana, either. The Pacers have made a habit of
rallying late to win games this postseason, most notably in Game 1
of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks.
“The common denominator is them,” Daigneault said. “That’s a really
good team. Credit them for not only tonight but their run. They’ve
had so many games like that that have seemed improbable. They just
play with a great spirit, they keep coming, they made plays, made
shots. They deserved to win by a point.”
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