The Indiana Pacers pulled off yet another thrilling comeback to steal Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 to take a 1-0 lead in the championship round.
The Pacers trailed by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter but took their first lead of the night with 0.3 seconds left in the game, when guard Tyrese Haliburton hit a pull-up 2-point jumper that proved to be the game winner.
Indiana trailed by nine with 2 minutes and 52 seconds to go before it finished the game on a 12-2 run.
Haliburton finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while the Thunder wasted a 38-point performance from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
"Look, it was just hit the reset button, let’s go whistle to whistle in the third quarter and try to chip away at it and try to hang in," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
For nearly 48 minutes, Oklahoma City looked to be in position to take a 1-0 lead, thanks in large part to its suffocating defense. The Thunder forced 25 turnovers, including 19 in the first half. Their offense wasn’t able to take advantage, however, scoring only 11 points off the takeaways.
Oklahoma City attempted 16 more field goals than the Pacers but converted on only 39.8% of its 98 shots. Gilgeous-Alexander’s big scoring night was marred by inefficiency, as he hit only 14 of his 30 attempts.
Before Haliburton’s game-winner, Gilgeous-Alexander missed his own pull-up 2 that would have given his team a three-point lead.
Indiana survived despite a quiet night from Haliburton before his heroic shot. The Pacers were led in scoring by Pascal Siakam, who finished with 19. Indiana ultimately had a balanced attack, with all five starters and six players overall scoring in double figures.
The Pacers' 3-point shooting played a massive role in their comeback, as they finished 18-of-39 from deep, a 46.2% clip. Reserve forward Obi Toppin helped swing the game, draining five 3s off the bench.
“This is going to be a long journey and a lot going on, so we’re just going to have to keep our eye on the ball and keep focusing on one another," Carlisle said.
Game 2 is on Sunday.
Pacers fans back in Indy go wild
Let's go back to Gainbridge Fieldhouse...
Final: Pacers 111, Thunder 110
Indiana took its first lead of the NBA Finals with 0.3 seconds left in Game 1, and it was enough to beat Oklahoma City in a thrilling showdown to tip off the championship round.
The Pacers are proving to be the comeback kings of the postseason. Indiana overcame a 15-point deficit in the fourth to knock off the Thunder.
Game 2 is on Sunday.
Home crowd has gone silent
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Tyrese Haliburton hits a go-ahead jumper with 0.3 of a second left to take a 111-110 lead and the home crowd has hushed in stunned disbelief. Indiana might be on its way to a stunning road win to open a third consecutive series.
Tyrese Haliburton does it again!
Wow!
After an SGA miss, Tyrese Haliburton pulled up and hit a deep two and the Pacers have a 111-110 lead with 0.3 seconds left. It’s Indiana’s first lead of the night!
Huge replay coming up; it's a 1-point game
OKC leads 110-109 with 22.5 seconds remaining after a miss on its most recent possession. The Thunder have the ball, but the Pacers are challenging an out-of-bounds play on Pascal Siakam for a potential foul. If a foul is called, Indiana will head to the free-throw line with a chance to take the lead.
It’s a 3-point game!
Back-to-back 3s and the Pacers trail 108-105, the closest they've been in the second half.
Could the Pacers pull off yet another shocker?
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Indiana trails just 100-96 with less than six minutes to play in what is a stunning example of this team refusing to quit in difficult road environments. Here we'll find out if the young Thunder roster has the resolve to close out a game against an opponent that lives for "clutch" opportunities.
Indiana won't be broken yet, trailing by only 8
Reporting from Oklahoma City
The Indiana Pacers reached the NBA Finals by being the most difficult team to put away in the postseason. Their 6-2 road record and run of odds-defying comebacks has turned them into an uber-confident team when trailing. And that has continued tonight, where they trail only 96-88 with less than 8 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, in a game where they really should have no business being competitive, considering the 18-turnover disparity between the teams. But Oklahoma City has not shot the ball well, just 42%.
The Thunder are still ahead
Oklahoma City had a 12-point lead at halftime, and now with 7:01 left in the third quarter...the Thunder still lead by 12, 67-55.
Here's the trade-off for OKC's aggressive defense
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City reached its first Finals since 2012 because of its aggressive, turnover-forcing defense, but playing that style can come at a cost. The Thunder foul an average of 21 times per game, fourth-most among playoff teams. (The most foul-happy team? Indiana.)
The reason the fouling could hurt Oklahoma City is if it reaches the point where it allows Indiana a way to score, at the free-throw line, in games where it otherwise is struggling to do so. Stopping the clock to shoot 16 free throws helped Indiana keep the score close tonight while slowing down some of the crowd momentum. The Pacers will need much more help than that, however.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault called the fouls the "cost of doing business."
"Some of them are just a cost of physicality," he said before tipoff. "I think both of these teams are incredibly physical. That’s kind of a tradeoff you have to incur."
The Thunder have taken their largest lead of the game
Thanks to a 9-3 run to start the fourth, OKC has its largest lead of the night, opening up a 15-point advantage on the Pacers.
Indiana will have 9:42 to make up a 94-79 deficit.
Lu Dort: Thunder's secret MVP?
Reporting from Oklahoma City
It seems almost inexplicable now, but Lu Dort went undrafted in 2019. Consider now that the player every team passed on during two rounds of drafting now might be the secret MVP that just might help Oklahoma City take a 1-0 lead in the Finals.
Dort plays a hounding style of defense that frustrates opponents like few other perimeter defenders, and tonight he has been given the toughest defensive assignments, from guarding Tyrese Haliburton to Pascal Siakam. Late in the third quarter, he blocked a Siakam shot before the Pacer could even get the ball above his head, the turnover sparking a Thunder fast break. If you want to know why Haliburton has just nine shot attempts through three quarters, look no further than Dort.
Any offense Dort gives is metaphorical gravy, but tonight the streak shooter has 15 points.
It’s closer than it should be headed into the fourth
The Thunder only lead by nine, 85-76, as we head to the final quarter of regulation. The Pacers cut the lead to as little as six in the third, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a three with 0.7 seconds left to give OKC a little more cushion.
Indiana, which has already pulled off several impressive comebacks this postseason, is officially in 'Hanging Around' territory. Pascal Siakam leads the Pacers with 16 points. Obi Toppin and T.J. McConnell have been solid off the bench, combining to score 20.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has 28 points, but the Thunder are shooting only 40.5% as a team, not fully taking advantage of the 21 turnovers they’ve forced.
OKC is holding steady with a double-digit lead
The Thunder’s 12-point lead has been cut all the way down to.......11 with three minutes left in the third quarter. The Pacers have yet to make any kind of significant run or dent so far in the second half.
Oklahoma City getting more offensive production from stars
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (10 baskets on 21 attempts) and Jalen Williams (three baskets on 11 attempts) have taken nearly twice as many shots already as the Pacers' pair of leading scorers, Tyrese Haliburton (7) and Pascal Siakam (10). One of Indiana's best attributes is its egalitarian offense where Haliburton is just as dangerous when he drives because of his ability to spray out passes to teammates as much as look for his own shot. But Indiana can't live with Haliburton playing facilitator full-time.
Halftime: Thunder 57, Pacers 45
The Pacers are almost lucky to only be down 12 points.
Indiana has been a mess offensively. The Pacers have 19 turnovers and star guard Tyrese Haliburton has scored only six points.
OKC has not shot well from the field, but is overwhelming Indiana simply by creating extra possession after extra possession. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while not super efficient, leads all players with 19 points.
Thunder are stealing this first half
Reporting from Oklahoma City
No team in the NBA all season, including the postseason, was better at generating steals than Oklahoma City, which has averaged a playoff-best 10 per game.
Well, it's only the first half, but Oklahoma City is already up to 11 steals, as part of Indiana's 19 turnovers overall. It's an outrageous display of defensive pressure, and uncharacteristic offensive carelessness by the Pacers.
OKC’s lead is back up to 10
It’s 47-37 Thunder with 4:12 left in the second quarter.
The Pacers are up to 15(!!!!!!!) turnovers on offense.
Oklahoma City dominating the possession battle
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Basketball isn't thought of as much of a possession battle in the way football is, but the importance is vital. And Oklahoma City has been one of the best teams in the league all season because they regularly create more possessions than their opponents, and give themselves more opportunities to score.
That's been their recipe in Game 1, as well, where they have 40 shot attempts to just 27 for Indiana. That disparity hasn't resulted in a blowout — Oklahoma City leads 44-37 — but it makes it so much more difficult for Indiana to rally when its turnovers cost it opportunities to catch up.
The Pacers are hanging around
Indiana trails 39-33 with 7:50 left in the second. The Pacers haven’t been great offensively, turning the ball over 11 times and shooting only 44.0% from the field.
But Indy’s defense has been rock solid, holding the Thunder to 36.1% from the field. If the Pacers can finally control the ball, they could go on a run.
Thunder lead 29-20 after one; SGA is dominating
OKC has a lead after one quarter, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is thoroughly winning the superstar matchup so far.
SGA had 12 points, one assist and two rebounds in the first, while Tyrese Haliburton scored only three points. Gilgeous-Alexander has also attempted eight more shots.
The Pacers finished the quarter with nine turnovers.
'M-V-P' chants ringing for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Reporting from Oklahoma City
The league's new MVP is showing why he earned the league's scoring title and won its highest individual honor after scoring 12 points in the first quarter. Fans serenaded him with "M-V-P!" chants while shooting free throws.
The Thunder have opened up a 10-point lead
OKC leads 25-15 with 1:04 left in the first. The Thunder are holding the Pacers to only 37.5% shooting from the field in addition to forcing eight turnovers.
The Thunder have already forced 8 turnovers
OKC has taken a 19-13 lead early in the first. The Pacers are lucky to be that close considering the keep giving the ball away.
Indiana has survived OKC's first wave. Can it take advantage?
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Credit Indiana for its ability to withstand an emotional start to the opening quarter that saw them trail 7-0 but not become overwhelmed by the spotlight and pressure. They trail only 14-10 with 4:59 to play in the first quarter. But now with three-fifths of Oklahoma City's starting lineup off the floor and resting, Indiana's lineup of Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Aaron Nesmith needs to take advantage.
Tyrese Haliburton missed his first shot tonight...
...Why is that important? Here were Haliburton’s splits earlier in the playoffs based on whether he made or missed his first field-goal attempt — and the difference is stark:
10-3 run by the Pacers
...And we have a tie game at our first timeout of the game. A 10-3 run by Indy, capped by an Andrew Nembhard 3-pointer, has the game knotted at 10 with 7:07 left in the first.
Slow start for the Pacers
Indiana trails 7-0 after the first 2:30 of the game. The Pacers are definitely adjusting to the physicality of the Thunder’s defense.
The atmosphere inside Paycom Center is ... thunderous
Reporting from Oklahoma City
The crowd reception for new NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was predictably a din of noise during pregame intrdocutions. But the loudest moment inside the arena thus far was a 3-pointer by Jalen Williams that put the Thunder ahead 7-0.
The 2025 NBA Finals are underway!
The Thunder won the tip and we’re off!
Bet on Holmgren, Nembhard to win NBA Finals MVP
Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick preview the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, sharing one longshot on each team who could be named the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
Offense vs. defense showdown
This Finals series pits one of the NBA’s best offenses against one of the league’s best defenses.
Indiana trails only Cleveland in scoring offense and offensive rating in the playoffs, while the Thunder have been among the NBA’s best defenses this season.
Indiana is 0-4 when held under 110 points this postseason and 12-0 when exceeding that amount. The Thunder have held their opponents to below 110 points in 10 out of their 16 games this postseason.
Thunder going with a new starting lineup for the Finals
Guard Cason Wallace will start in place of center Isaiah Hartenstein in Game 1 of the Finals, as the Thunder will begin with a smaller look against the fast-paced Pacers.
The lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Wallace, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren has played 26 minutes so far in the playoffs, and is a plus-22 in that time.
Thunder's dominant road to the Finals
The Thunder posted the best record in the NBA in the regular season, winning a franchise-record 68 games.
In the playoffs, the Thunder lost just four games over three rounds en route to the Finals. Oklahoma City swept the Grizzlies in the First Round, beat the Nuggets in seven games in the Conference Semifinals and then beat the Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals.
The Thunder outscored opponents by an average of 10.8 points per game over the first three rounds with four of their 12 wins by more than 30 points, which set a NBA record.
Oklahoma City is just the fourth team ever to win 80 games ahead of the NBA Finals, including both regular season and playoffs. The others are the 2016 Warriors (who lost the Finals to the Cavaliers), and the 1996 and 1997 Bulls, who both won the Finals.
Haliburton may struggle to generate assists in Game 1
Brad Thomas and Vaughn Dalzell reveal their favorite player props for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, highlighting Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on opposite ends of an Over/Under.
Different year, different champion again
This year will mark the seventh straight season with a different champion, which will be the longest such streak in NBA history. This will break a tie with a stretch of six straight seasons with a different champion from 1975-80.
The last six NBA champions were the Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Bucks, Lakers and Raptors.
The Warriors won in 2017 and 2018.
Pacers must ‘put a little doubt’ into Thunder
Despite Oklahoma City's status as a heavy favorite to win the NBA Finals, Dan Patrick thinks Indiana can steal wins in a battle between two teams that can "shoot their way" out of any scoring situation.
Adam Silver says next year’s All-Star game will have an ‘international flavor’
After a disastrous All-Star format in 2025, NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the next iteration of the game (which will be on NBC in 2026!) will have some kind of international aspect.
Don’t be surprised if the NBA tries to crib some aspect of the NHL’s “4 Nations Face-Off” tournament, which was a critically acclaimed All-Star battle earlier this year.
NBA not interested in shortening regular season
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Asked during his annual state-of-the-NBA remarks before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, league commissioner Adam Silver said that he sees no reason to reduce the length of the 82-game regular season, and said that the league's data did not support the suggestion that the longer season increased injuries.
"Money is part of it," Silver said. "There's no question about it, we're a business. But having said that, I don't really see the benefit to reducing the number of games."
NBA still 'looking at' expanding, commissioner says
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Pacers coach defends ESPN broadcaster
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Seemingly in response to a report from The Athletic that broadcaster Doris Burke's place on ESPN's top NBA broadcast team is "not guaranteed" for next season, Indiana coach Rick Carlisle opened his remarks before Game 1 with a lengthy declaration in support of Burke, whom he called a friend who had "changed the game."
Thunder coach feels 'like a rookie' against Pacers' Rick Carlisle
Reporting from Oklahoma City
When New York fired coach Tom Thibodeau this week, it thrust Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault, who was hired in 2020, into fifth place on the list of NBA coaches with the longest tenure with one team. He was asked before Game 1 whether he felt like a veteran coach.
"Now when you're coaching against Rick Carlisle," Daigneault said with a smile. Carlisle has 993 career victories and has been a head coach since 2001. "I feel like a rookie."
Teams are beginning their warmups inside Paycom Center
Reporting from OKLAHOMA CITY
There is a severe thunderstorm watch for three more hours covering Oklahoma City, and an additional flood watch in the region, as well, but inside Paycom Center, there's a calmness as players just begin to start their warmups. This arena will turn into a carnival atmosphere by the 7:30 p.m. local tipoff but for now the atmosphere is quiet inside the building.
Two different regular season paths to the Finals
Oklahoma City — who boasts the youngest roster in the league — won a franchise-record 68 games in the regular season, becoming just the 7th team in NBA history to win 68 games in the regular season. Indiana started the regular season slower, sitting under .500 at the start of 2025, but the Pacers have earned a reputation for comebacks, rallying to reach the Finals thanks in part to their late-game dramatics.
Transition buckets will be key for Pacers
The Thunder’s defense has been suffocating all postseason, minus a couple of blips in the conference finals. As much movement and verve as the Pacers play with in the half-court, they cannot afford to play against OKC’s set defense if they want to score consistently. That means Indiana will need to do even more of what it did against the Knicks: create turnovers for easy scores and run incredibly hard even off made baskets for semi-transition opportunities.
If the Pacers are forced to play anything resembling a half-court game against the Thunder, they will lose. OKC’s defense is probably the best of this decade, and it has been even better in the playoffs than it was during the regular season. If Indiana is going to win, it needs to consistently attack when the Thunder can’t get set.
Paul George looms large despite not being in the Finals
Both franchises enjoyed success with nine-time All-Star Paul George on the floor and both franchises can trace much of their current success back to their returns from eventually trading George away.
George was drafted by Indiana in 2010 and played his first seven NBA seasons with the Pacers. In 2017, he was traded to the Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis spent four plus seasons with Indiana, earning a pair of All-Star nods before the Pacers traded him to Sacramento as part of a 6-player trade, including Tyrese Haliburton.
George spent two seasons with Oklahoma City, earning All-Star and All-NBA honors both years. In July 2019, he was traded to the Clippers, with the Thunder receiving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander along with five first-round picks.
Pacers have been comeback kings this postseason
The Pacers have come back to win four games in which they trailed by 17 points in the playoffs — the most in a single playoffs in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98), per NBA.com.
Since 1996-97, there have been four playoff games in which a team rallied to win after trailing by seven or more points in the final 0:50 of the 4th quarter or OT. The Pacers have three of those four wins in this playoff run, one in each round.
NBA Finals Game 1 could feature 'lopsided scoring'
Drew Dinsick shares why he envisions live betting throughout this year's NBA Finals, while Jay Croucher remains "bullish" about the Pacers' Game 1 outlook against the Thunder.
Small markets have their day
The Thunder and Pacers occupy two of the smallest markets in the NBA, with Oklahoma City being the league’s third-smallest TV market and Indianapolis being the seventh-smallest TV market.
Not easy winning in OKC for visitors
With the best regular season record in the NBA, the Thunder have held homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs and have been dominant at PayCom Center, going 8-1 so far in the playoffs, with their lone loss coming to Denver in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semis.
The Thunder have a total home scoring margin of +221 in this postseason, which would be the best in a single playoff run in NBA history.
Five of OKC’s eight home wins in these playoffs have come by more than 25 points, including a 51-point win over the Grizzlies in Game 1 of the first round.
The Pacers, on the other hand, have been road warriors this postseason. Indiana’s six road victories are tied with the Knicks for the most during these playoffs. Indiana is three road wins from tying the 1995 NBA champion Rockets for the most in a single NBA postseason.
Pacers need to limit turnovers to have a chance
When Oklahoma City gets 10-plus steals this season, it is 43-4. That is not a misprint. The Thunder led the league in steals during the regular season at more than 10 per game — two more per game than the league average — and have been even slightly better in the postseason.
The Pacers committed the third-fewest turnovers per game this season, and their very best attribute is their ability to play fast without being careless and giving away possessions. (That’s also what makes Indiana so good at pulling off comebacks.) But when their offense is disrupted, their fortunes are, too. The Pacers are 34-19 this season with fewer turnovers than their opponents, compared with 12-12 with more. And Oklahoma City has just the personnel to cause havoc.
Representation from north of the border
For the second consecutive year, four Canadians will appear in the NBA Finals. This year’s Canadian representatives are all key members of their respective teams’ rotations — OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort and Indiana's Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard.
Last year’s NBA Finals between the Mavericks and Celtics featured three Canadian players (Dwight Powell, AJ Lawson, Olivier-Maxence Prosper) on Dallas, while Boston featured Oshae Brissett. Those four combined to score nine points in the Finals.
Pacers embrace underdog role
Reporting from Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is a historic favorite in the NBA Finals. The Thunder are -9.5 point favorites to win Game 1 and -700 to win the series, according to our partners at BetMGM. Good luck finding a pundit who picked Indiana to win the series.
The Pacers are good with that. They have fully embraced their underdog role.
“If we were to win a championship, I don’t want to win any other way,” Tyrese Haliburton said on the eve of Game 1. “I don’t want to go around or over. I want to go through. You want to go through the best team, the best challenge. This is the best challenge. This is the best team in the NBA. It’s been the best team in the NBA all year.”
Pacers looking for first NBA title
Indiana is one of 10 franchises never to have won a NBA championship. The others: Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz.
The Pacers won three ABA titles in the 1970s before the league merged with the NBA.
The one rule that decides virtually every NBA champion won’t be broken this year
This season’s Finals are the 79th in the league’s history. Of the previous 78 championships, 77 were won by top-four seeds.
The latest finalists meet that criterion. Oklahoma City finished the regular season with the West’s top seed, while Indiana was fourth.
Still, decades of precedent suggest that only Oklahoma City meets the NBA’s even tougher championship standard, because each of the league’s last 29 champions has been top-three seeds. If Indiana wins this season’s NBA title, it would become only the second fourth-seeded champion in league history and the first since 1981.
The lesson: The NBA regular season is often maligned for its length, but that length has also proved to be an effective predictor of which teams can endure four consecutive best-of-seven playoff rounds.
The Pacer besides Haliburton who could be the most important
By the end of the Pacers’ series with the New York Knicks, Andrew Nembhard had frustrated Jalen Brunson so much to the point that Brunson headbutted him during Game 6. Can Nembhard do the same to the MVP of the league? So far during the postseason, nobody has had an answer for Gilgeous-Alexander.
Indiana can’t simply try to play with pace, because the Thunder like to play fast, as well. If the Pacers are going to have any chance in this matchup, though, they’ll have to make life difficult for SGA. Nembhard and (along with Aaron Nesmith, who could be limited after suffering an ankle injury in the conference finals) is going to be a key factor in trying to slow down the MVP.