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The Indiana Pacers are starting to look like a team of destiny, if they didn’t look like one already.
Trailing by 15 in the fourth quarter, the Pacers erased that deficit and pulled off a huge upset in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 15-point lead early in the fourth quarter was OKC’s largest of the game. But after the Pacers called a timeout, they went on a 15-4 run of their own to get back to within four. The Thunder wound up pulling away a bit to lead by nine, but they responded with another run, this one 10-2, to suddenly trail by one with 48.1 seconds left.
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Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts after a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter in game one of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. (Kyle Terada-Imagn Images)
Gilgeous-Alexander missed a shot with 11.0 seconds left, and Tyrese Haliburton responded with the game-winner with 0.3 seconds left. It was Indiana’s first lead of the entire game, as most of the game had been all Thunder.
Indiana came in as double-digit underdogs, and that looked to cover for the majority of the contest. Instead, it’s a 111-110 win for the Pacers, their first in the NBA Finals since 2000.
In the final 9:27, the Pacers outscored the Thunder, 32-16, and it was a 12-2 run in the final 2:38.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) dribbles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the third quarter in game one of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. (Kyle Terada-Imagn Images)
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It’s yet another insane comeback for the Pacers this postseason – in nearly 1,500 playoff games since 1997, only four times has a team come back to win after trailing by seven-plus points in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime – the Pacers have won three of those games this season alone. This one did not fit that criteria, but nonetheless, it’s chalked up as an incredible comeback.
« It ain’t over til it’s over, » Haliburton, doing his best Yogi Berra impression, said after the game. « It ain’t over until the clock hits zero. »
Amazingly enough, no Pacer had 20 points in the game, while MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 38 for the Thunder. But, six Pacers scored in double-digits, and five had at least 14.
Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) and guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrate after a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter in game one of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. (Kyle Terada-Imagn Images)
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Game 2 will be Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
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