Pacers play second half great with Haliburton late to beat Thunder in Game 1
An ugly loss was taking shape for the Pacers, but they adjusted to the NBA Finals experience, continued to grind and pulled off another epic comeback win to take a 1-0 lead over the Thunder.
The Pacers survived a disastrous Game 1 start that had them trailing by 12 at the half, before adjusting in the second half to find their game, their shot from behind the arc and eventually Tyrese Haliburton for another game winner.
As they have in the prior three playoff series, the Pacers stunned their opponent with an improbable comeback. The Thunder were on the cusp of celebrating a Finals win only to be left trailing for the first time in the game with only 0.3 seconds to respond.
Game over.
While the final series of plays, including Haliburton’s fundamental 19-foot jump shot for the dub, weren’t as wild as say the win over the Knicks and/or Cavs, the degree of difficulty was much higher against the stout and swarming defense of the Thunder.
The Pacers faced an uphill battle all night thanks to the Thunder defense that pressured the Pacers into 20 turnovers at the half. Obi Toppin looked unplayable in his first few minutes on the floor, appearing to try to get rid of the ball before having it swiped and throwing it to no one. Myles Turner was also caught out over his skis, struggling to hang onto the ball around the rim, being called for a travel and offensive fouls.
Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard had good, aggressive intentions, but the Thunder help apparently swipes at the ball and never misses. Tyrese Haliburton also struggled, with three first half turnovers while trying to navigate against Lu Dort who is stout as a brinks truck (unless he’s going under a screen and wants to draw a foul, then…origami).
The Pacers play reminded me of the ol’ John Wooden quote: ‘Be quick, but don’t hurry.’
The Pacers exemplified what happens when you hurry and are rushed by your opponent into playing out of control. The Pacers love to play fast, but again, they succeed when playing fast, yet under control. Haliburton admitted during and after the game, he was playing too sped up, needed to chill, as did all of his teammates.
And that they did after being reminded at the half that they had to stick to their process as they have all season. Considering the 20 turnovers which helped the Thunder take 19 more field goal attempts at the break, the Pacers were lucky to be down just 12 points. It helped that the offensive fouls, traveling calls and some egregious passes were so bad, the Thunder weren’t able to get easy transition run outs, only scoring 9 points on the donations at the break.
One of several nuggets of info along the way that played a part in the Pacers being able to stage a furious finish to steal the W. The Pacers won both the third and second quarters, lighting up Thunder for 66 points in the second half with only 5 turnovers.
Andrew Nembhard spearheaded a Pacers defensive effort that was not as glamourous as the Thunder, but did make OKC earn everything they kept. Matched up on his Canadian National teammate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nembhard was comfortable showing hands but being physical. SGA finished with 38 points, not all against Nemby, but needed 30 shots and when he try to get to the hoop late with the Thunder up one, Nembhard stoned him twice leaving him with a patented midrange shot that is usually money.
But not this time. The ball bounced and Aaron Nesmith secured the contested rebound which eventually made it to Haliburton for the game winner. Think about Nembhard’s last two games, dealing with the elite, multi-level scoring threats in Jalen Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Late in both games, Nembhard’s relentless defensive edge showed up in frustration from the stars, with Brunson head butting Nembhard and SGA shoving him.
Nembhard also set up Shai at the other end with a sick, step back move for a 3-ball with two minutes left that cut the deficit to three. The Pacers were able to finally cut the lead inside of two possessions thanks to threes by Obi Toppin, Myles Turner, Nembhard and Nesmith. The group made 6 threes in the fourth quarter while the Thunder only answered with twos. Turner’s step back bank shot from behind the arc raised an eyebrow of hope. Nesmith’s quick release contested corner three that rattled in did the same.
Part of the Pacers fight included a rare instance where they owned the glass with a +17 rebounding advantage. And in the second half they were hanging onto most of them which always helps. The Thunder went small trying to slow down the Pacers, even changing their starting lineup to include Cason Wallace instead of Isaiah Hartenstein. It appeared to work early when the Pacers were playing in chaotic fashion, but eventually the Pacers found their way with Nembhard initiating more offense in the second half.
As has been the case in many a win for the Pacers, they had six players score in double figures, none over 20. Pascal Siakam lead the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Nembhard was incredible in his two-way role. Obi Toppin rallied to finish the game with 5 threes and 17 points. They did they heavy lifting to put the team in position to win late and then it was Haliburton time.
Hali finished with 14 points, 6 assists and 10 rebounds with Richard Jefferson and the masses on social media downplaying his impact and expecting more. Whenever an opponent gives Haliburton their primary defensive attention and then other Pacers step up to produce, seems like all who don’t normally follow the Pacers, dismiss the gravity Haliburton has on the floor. Simply dominating in a way people aren’t used to seeing and then exposing their lack of understanding when talking about it.
Once again, Haliburton had the last word, after Nesmith rebounded SGA’s miss, he tossed to Siakam who pushed it to Toppin. After a couple of dribbles, Toppin got it to Haliburton who traversed his way from the left sideline to the right side of the court, setting up a jumper over Cason Wallace as Siakam cut to the rim to drag Alex Caruso away from helping.
Count it.
One of may favorite view of the game winner is below. I took a similar picture and zoomed in on the Thunder fans in the background to get their ‘faces of death’ reaction, seeing Haliburton was getting a clean look off for the win.
Check ‘em out: FoD 1, FoD 2, FoD 3, FoD 4
So, once again, the Pacers win a game that feels like it should count as three, but alas, is just one. But a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals feels pretty sweet. But the degree of difficulty OKC presents isn’t going anywhere and they are 11-point favorites on their home floor for Game 2.
Fortunately, the Pacers and Haliburton in particular, only use outside noise as fuel and don’t care how others try to label them. Just win, baby!
NBA FINALS Game 2: Pacers vs. Thunder
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
When: Sunday, June 8, 2025, 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +11
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein
Injuries
Pacers: Tony Bradley (hip) - questionable, Jarace Walker (ankle) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out
Thunder: Nikola Topic (knee) - out