Indiana Pacers Take 1-0 Series Lead In NBA Finals

Source: William Purnell / Getty

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK) – Tyrese Haliburton hits his fourth game winner in the playoffs elevating the Indiana Pacers to a 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in game one of the NBA Finals.

1. First Quarter

For the seventeenth consecutive playoff game, the Indiana Pacers starting lineup featured Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. As for the Oklahoma City Thunder they changed their starting lineup for the first time this postseason. OKC started Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. The first quarter would just be a quarter of runs. The Thunder leaned on the leagues MVP with 12 points in the first quarter. Indiana fell down 7-0 early and responded with a 7-3 run to tie the game at 10 with a three from Nembhard. The Thunder called a timeout and came out of it with a 15-5 burst to take the first double digit lead with step back field goal from SGA. After twelve minutes of play, Indiana trailed 29-20. Despite being outscored by nine, Indiana shot 47% from the field compared to 41% for OKC. The major different in the first quarter was the fact that Indiana turned the ball over nine times. Indiana had six players score in the period with Siakam and T.J. McConnell leading the way with four points each.

2. Second Quarter

Indiana’s turnover issues would carry over into the second quarter. After turning it over nine times in the first period, they turned it over ten times in the second period. Two free throws from Caruso with 10:03 left in the half put OKC back up by ten points. Indiana would work its way back into the game when Siakam converted a reverse layup with 5:31 left in the half, making it a 41-37 game. The turnover woes then started mounting for the Pacers. They turned it over seven times in the final five minutes of the period. The Thunder pushed its advantage to a first half high thirteen points when Dort splashed his third triple of the quarter. At halftime Indiana was down 57-45. Dort led all players with 9 points in the quarter, but SGA led all players at intermission with 19 points. McConnell led the Pacers in scoring at the break with 9 points. Out of the starters, Siakam paced Indiana with 8 tallies. Haliburton was on pace for a double-double with 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Despite turning it over 19 times in the first half, OKC only scored 9 points off those turnovers.

3. Third Quarter

During the regular season, Oklahoma City was the best team in the third quarter both offensively and defensively. Indiana would be the better team tonight. It took some time for the Pacers to really make things interesting, but they didn’t let the Thunder go on any major runs. Indiana stayed within ten to thirteen points for the most of the period until Mathurin connected on two foul shots with 1:24 left in the quarter to make it 79-70. Isaiah Joe hit a three pointer to go back ahead by twelve points and then Thomas Bryant and Pascal Siakam hit back-to-back threes, cutting the deficit in half with 17.3 seconds remaining in the quarter. SGA ended the scoring in the quarter with a three pointer with Ben Sheppard in his face. After three quarters, OKC led 85-76. SGA led all players in scoring with 28 points after scoring nine more in the third quarter. Indiana was led by Siakam with 16 points after scoring half of his points in the period. Indiana only turned the ball over twice in the quarter.

4. Fourth Quarter

With SGA hitting at three at the end of the third quarter, that would sway the momentum back in favor of Oklahoma City. The Thunder opened the final twelve minutes of play with a 9-3 burst to push their lead to 94-79. Rick Carlisle called a timeout to get four of his starters on the floor to make one last push. The pacers connected on four consecutive triples between Toppin and Turner while getting a couple of stops to quickly cut the deficit down to four points with 6:16 remaining in the game. With 3:24 left in the game, OKC extended its lead back to eight points after two foul shots from SGA and then would put his team up nine points with 2:52 remaining in the game. Then it was the AN’s (Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith) splashing back-to-back threes to make it a three-point game with two minutes left. SGA countered with a layup to make it a 110-105 contest with 1:27 remaining. Nembhard hit two free throws and then Siakam recorded a putback layup off a Nembhard missed three to make it 110-109 with 48.6 seconds left. Williams missed a shot and then the ball went out of bounds off Siakam with 22.5 seconds remaining. SGA missed a free throw line jumper that was contested by Nembhard. Nesmith corralled the rebound and gave it to Haliburton at the midcourt stripe and he broke down Cason Wallace and connected on a pullup jumper inside the three-point line to give his team a 111-110 lead with 0.3 seconds left. OKC attempted to throw the ball to the basket in the direction of the basket for a tip in, but Turner swatted it away. Indiana steals game one in Oklahoma City after outscoring the Thunder 35-25 in the fourth quarter.

5. Top Performers

Pascal Siakam (19p, 10r, 3a), Obi Toppin (17p, 5r), Myles Turner (15p, 9r, 3b), Tyrese Haliburton (14p, 10r, 6a, 1b), Andrew Nembhard (14p, 6a, 4r), and Aaron Nesmith (10p, 12r). For Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (38p, 5r, 3a, 3s), Jalen Williams (17p, 6a, 4r), Lu Dort (15p, 4r, 4s, 2b), and Alex Caruso (11p, 6r, 3s, 2a). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

Indiana is now 13-4 in the playoffs
- Indiana is 13-0 when scoring 110+ points
Indiana is 7-2 on the road in the playoffs
Indiana’s 24 turnovers are most in a playoff game this postseason
Indiana won all four game ones in the postseason
Oklahoma City is 12-5 in the playoffs
Oklahoma City is 7-2 at home in the playoffs
Oklahoma City is now 29-2 against Eastern Conference teams
Oklahoma City’s first loss to an Eastern Conference team since March 12, 2024
When road team wins game 1, they win 52% of all playoff series
Since the play-by-play era (1996-1997), the Pacers 0.3 seconds led tonight is the least amount of time led in any postseason victory
Indiana becomes first team to win a game trailing by 7+ points in the final 3 minutes of 4th quarter or OT
- Prior to tonight, teams were 0-121
Aaron Nesmith recorded his 3rd double-double of this postseason
Lu Dort’s 15 points are the most in a playoff game this postseason
Lu Dort’s 5 threes are a career high in a playoff game
Obi Toppin has scored 10+ points in 3 consecutive games
Obi Toppin’s 5 threes are a career high in a playoff game
Pascal Siakam recorded his 2nd double-double of this postseason
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30+ points in 12 games this postseason
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led his team in scoring in 15 of the 17 playoff games
- Aaron Wiggins 21 points in game one versus Memphis
- Jalen Williams 32 points in game three versus Denver
Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 10th double-double of this postseason
- Indiana is 9-1 in those games

7. Next Up

Indiana and Oklahoma City will have two days off and go back at it on Sunday from Oklahoma City. Pregame coverage with Pat Boylan will start at 7:30pm and then Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play at 8pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.

Here is the NBA Finals Schedule: