SGA, Thunder Lose NBA Finals Game 1 to Pacers as Fans Rip 4th-Quarter Collapse

Tyrese Haliburton hit a 14-foot jumper with three-tenths of a second remaining to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 111-110 comeback win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

Indiana was down 94-79 with 9:42 remaining but kept chipping away at the lead. Ultimately, the Pacers ended the game on a 12-2 run over the final 2:38.

It resulted in another historic comeback for the Pacers:

Indiana also won despite 38 points from OKC guard and NBA MVP and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Pacers were also victorious despite committing four times as many turnovers as the Thunder (24 to six).

With 2:38 remaining, Indiana trailed 108-99, but Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard hit back-to-back threes. An SGA layup extended the lead back to five, but a pair of Nembhard free throws and a Pascal Siakam putback cut the Thunder edge to one with 41 seconds left.

OKC had two chances to extend the lead to three. Jalen Williams missed a running layup, but Siakam couldn't corral the defensive rebound before falling out-of-bounds. Gilgeous-Alexander then missed a fadeaway jumper, giving the ball back to the Pacers after Nesmith's board. The ball found its way to Haliburton, who proved clutch once again.

Haliburton has proven to be a monster in these playoff situations, as noted by Sam Quinn of CBS Sports.

But on the flip side, OKC shouldn't have ever been in a situation where the defense needed to make a stop in the final second to win the game. The Thunder, enjoying its homecourt advantage, were up 15 with nine-and-a-half minutes left and nine with under three minutes remaining. OKC had the NBA MVP leading the way flanked by the league's No. 1 defense.

However, OKC got crushed on the boards (19-9 Pacer advantage in the fourth quarter). The Thunder also made just two of their last 11 field goal attempts, while Indiana, as it's done often, got hot from three.

It helped that Oklahoma City shot under 40 percent (39.8 percent) and failed to take advantage of the turnover differential. In addition, some key OKC players had quiet nights (Chet Holmgren with six points) or off-nights (Jalen Williams scored 17 but on 6-of-19 shooting).

In the end, though, this was nothing short of a monumental collapse, and the team that won led for just three-tenths of a second.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will occur in Oklahoma City on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.