Tyrese Haliburton delivered yet again in the clutch, lifting the Indiana Pacers to a 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.
His step-back jumper with 0.3 seconds left gave the visitors their only lead of the game and capped a stunning comeback from 15 points down in the fourth quarter.
Indiana committed 25 turnovers and trailed nearly the entire way, but found answers late after head coach Rick Carlisle subbed out the entire lineup early in the final period.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Obi Toppin added 17 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting from deep.
Haliburton finished with 14 points and 6 assists, hitting his fourth game-winner of these playoffs.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA MVP, poured in 38 points on 14-of-30 shooting and appeared to have put Oklahoma City in control with a pull-up jumper that made it 110-109 with 7.4 seconds left.
Carlisle called timeout, drew up a play, and watched Haliburton bury the decisive shot from just inside the arc.
Jalen Williams had 17 points for the Thunder and Lu Dort chipped in 15, but Oklahoma City’s offense stalled in the closing minutes as Indiana ramped up its pressure.
The 15-point comeback tied the largest fourth-quarter rally in NBA Finals history, matching the Dallas Mavericks’ comeback against the Miami Heat on June 2, 2011—when Carlisle was also coaching.
Indiana shot 47.6% from the field and 46.2% from three-point range, while Oklahoma City hit just under 40% from the floor and committed six turnovers in the final frame.
The Pacers outscored the Thunder 35-25 in the fourth and closed the game on a 17-7 run.
Andrew Nembhard had 14 points and 6 assists, while Myles Turner added 15 points and two three-pointers.
T.J. McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin, and Thomas Bryant all contributed off the bench as Indiana’s second unit sparked the turnaround.
Game 2 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City, where the top-seeded Thunder will look to even the series before it shifts to Indiana.
The Pacers are now 4-0 in games decided by one point this postseason, with Haliburton sealing each one.
