Pacers vs. Thunder Best Bets After Game 1 Box Score Review from NBA Finals Bracket
If Game 1 was any indication, the 2025 NBA Finals might be one for the ages.
The Indiana Pacers proved once again they're the best escape artists in basketball, this time wiggling out of a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to topple the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder on their home floor. The furious comeback was punctuated by the latest late-game heroics from Tyrese Haliburton, whose 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining gave his club a stunning 111-110 triumph.
It was a huge win for the Pacers, obviously, but also a major victory for those who wagered on the 9.5-point underdogs. More wins could be ahead for savvy wagerers, particularly those who stopped by here, since we're laying out some our favorite Finals bets using odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Play the Over in Game 2
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Coming into the championship round, this series seemingly held the proverbial battle between the unstoppable force and the immovable object. The former label was perhaps a tad generous to Indiana's offense, which ranked a good-not-great ninth in efficiency during the regular season, per NBA.com, but the latter clearly fit OKC's top-ranked defense.
The early advantage went to the offense. Sure, it took the Pacers time to settle in, and their 25 turnovers suggest they were never fully in synch, but their offensive output climbed in every quarter, from 20 points in the first frame to 35 in the final. They also only committed six of those giveaways after halftime.
Indiana should feel good about its ability to generate offense against this defense. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, should be more focused on finishing what it starts. It should also reasonably expect better from its top role players, as Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren managed just 23 points on their combined 28 field-goal attempts.
Both attacks should be ready to go, which makes the 227.5 over/under seem more than doable.
Take the Pacers and the 11 Points
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Often times when a road team takes Game 1 of a playoff series, there's a worry that it might not be quite as sharp in Game 2. Talking heads will say their work is already done, since splitting a pair of road games still counts as a significant win.
That's not how Indiana sees things, though. At least, that's not how it has responded to early success this postseason.
This is the third consecutive round in which the Pacers have captured Game 1 on the road. In their last two series, they claimed Game 2 also, first sneaking out of Cleveland with a 120-119 win and later leaving New York after a 114-109 triumph.
Oklahoma City is its hardest matchup yet, but 11 points feels like too many to lay here. Indiana won't be satisfied with a split, and the Pacers, who didn't play up to their offensive potential until late in Game 1, will at least keep this within single digits.
Pencil in 20+ Points for Pascal Siakam
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Haliburton will be the talk of the hoops world after Game 1—and for good reason. Yet, it was Pascal Siakam who paced Indiana's offense with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
And, as the big fella said himself afterward, this was far from Indiana's best.
Haliburton might be Indiana's brightest star, but Siakam can be its most productive. He was, after all, the Pacers' lone representative at this season's All-Star Game—not to mention MVP of the Eastern Conference finals.
He's also perhaps the trickiest matchup for Oklahoma City's defense, as he's bigger than its wing stoppers and faster than its bigs. Oddsmakers are sort of onto this, since they're giving Siakam a decent chance of cracking 20-plus points (plus-126; bet $100 to win $126), but this still looks a positive-value proposition.
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