“It aint over until it is over and the clock hits zero,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said following his buzzer-beater jumper to secure a win in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 5.
Facing a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter and plagued by nearly 20 first-half turnovers, the Pacers displayed resilience on the road.
Haliburton’s shot silenced a rambunctious Paycom Center crowd and gave Indiana a crucial 1-0 series lead.
However, it didn’t come easy.
Oklahoma City, fueled by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (38 points) and Lu Dort’s hot shooting (5-of-9 from three, 15 points), built a 12-point halftime lead (57-45).
The Pacers looked overwhelmed early, committing 19 turnovers in the first 24 minutes, many unforced, showcasing apparent jitters in their first Finals appearance.
“It could have been worse,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said during halftime.
Carlisle noted his team limited the Thunder to just 9 points off those first-half miscues.
The Pacers needed to settle down in the second half.
And ‘settle down’ they did.
Indiana drastically cleaned up its act after halftime, committing only five turnovers in the final 24 minutes.
Myles Turner (15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks), visibly lacking confidence early, emerged as a force on both ends.
Pascal Siakam (19 points, 10 rebounds) provided steady offense, while Andrew Nembhard (14 points, 6 assists) hit crucial shots down the stretch.
The Pacers chipped away at the deficit in the fourth frame. Key three-pointers from Obi Toppin (11 points), Turner, and Aaron Nesmith (10 points, 12 rebounds), coupled with a tough and-one drive from Nembhard, fueled a 12-2 run that cut the deficit to single digits.
They trimmed the Thunder lead to just one point multiple times in the final minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander repeatedly answered with clutch buckets to seemingly keep the Thunder ahead, including free throws that put OKC up 110-107 with 22 seconds left.
After a chaotic sequence and a Pacers coach’s challenge that upheld a Siakam turnover, Gilgeous-Alexander missed a fadeaway with 6.9 seconds left.
Nesmith secured the rebound, and Haliburton took one of the biggest shots of his career thus far successfully.
While Gilgeous-Alexander was stellar and Jalen Williams added 17 points, the Thunder couldn’t withstand the Pacers’ furious fourth-quarter surge and Haliburton’s heroics, which he has demonstrated in each postseason series.
The Pacers, overcoming their early nerves and a mountain of turnovers, head into Game 2 on June 8 with momentum and a hard-fought road win.
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846 or via email at noralp@indyrecorder.com. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more 2025 NBA Finals coverage, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
