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Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers Shock Fans with Rally to Beat Thunder in NBA Finals Game 1

Andrew PetersJun 5, 2025

It was a quiet night for Tyrese Haliburton, but the Indiana Pacers star showed up when it mattered most.

After scoring just 12 points heading into the final seconds of Thursday's Game 1 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Haliburton delivered the game-winner to give the Pacers a 111-110 win following a second-half comeback.

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The Thunder are still favored to win the series, but the odds have dropped from -700 to -330, with the Pacers +265 to win, per Fanduel. Oklahoma City is favored by 11 in Game 2.

However, it's clear Indiana will remain a tough team to beat.

Clutch shots from Haliburton are becoming a theme in this year's playoffs, and fans aren't getting tired of it.

Before Haliburton's game-winner, it wasn't the best night for the Pacers.

Indiana, which averaged just 13.2 turnovers per game during the regular season and 12.7 turnovers per game through the first three rounds of the playoffs, turned the ball over 19 times in the first half alone, allowing Oklahoma City to take a 57-45 lead heading into the second half.

Despite all the errors, the Pacers were still in the game heading into the fourth quarter, looking at just a nine-point deficit. Indiana cut that deficit to as few as four points thanks to a 12-2 run midway through the final quarter. The Pacers trailed by just three points heading into the final two minutes, and just one point with less than a minute to play.

Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams missed a jumper with 24 seconds left, but the Thunder retained possession. Shai GIlgeous-Alexander then missed a shot and the Pacers came up with the rebound, setting up Haliburton's game-winner.

The NBA has seen plenty of clutch players throughout history, but Haliburton's run this postseason has been one for the ages. He hit a game-winning layup in the first round to end the series, had a game-winning three in Round 2 and drilled a buzzer-beating three to send Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to send the contest to overtime.

Now he has another game-winner under his belt.

And the Pacers as a whole have now mounted enough comebacks to prove that no lead, no matter how much time is left, is safe.

The Thunder are an outstanding team, and the series is far from over, but Haliburton and the Pacers have all the momentum heading into Game 2.

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