Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers Collapse in NBA Finals G4 Loss to Thunder, Disappoint Fans
The Indiana Pacers missed out on an opportunity to claim a 3-1 lead in the 2025 NBA Finals on Friday night.
The Pacers led by as many 10 points in the third quarter of Game 4 before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 111-104 comeback win in Indianapolis.
The series is now tied 2-2.
Fans were disappointed that Tyrese Haliburton was unable to lead the Pacers within a single win of the franchise's first NBA title.
Fans were particularly disappointed that Haliburton, who recorded 18 points and seven assists but also committed a team-high five turnovers, was unable to come up with his signature game-saving shot in the clutch.
The Pacers will get another opportunity to take back the series lead when Game 5 tips off Monday night at 8:30 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City.
First the Pacers will have to overcome the disappointment of Friday night, when after a tightly-contested first half the home team started to pull away in the third quarter.
The game was tied with 10:28 left in the quarter before the Pacers surged ahead with a 7-2 run that forced the Thunder to call a timeout.
Oklahoma City pushed back to within two points before back-to-back threes from Obi Toppin forced the visitors to use another timeout.
The Pacers continued to pull away in the third quarter, at one point grabbing a 10-point advantage for what the ABC broadcast reported was the first time in the series.
That lead didn't last for long as Gilgeous-Alexander helped the Thunder storm back and tie the game in the fourth quarter.
Haliburton helped the Pacers respond by climbing back out to a four-point lead with 3:20 left on the clock.
The visitors answered with a 9-0 run, during which Gilgeous-Alexander hit a jump shot to help the Thunder grab their first lead of the second half with 2:23 left in the game.
The reigning NBA MVP helped the Thunder close out the win by drawing a series of fouls in the final minutes of the game.
Instead of putting the Oklahoma City on the brink of elimination, the Pacers will now be forced to hand back home-court advantage to the Thunder.
The Pacers haven't lost back-to-back games since March 10, dating back to the 2024-25 regular season. Indiana will look to respond to Friday's disappointment with another bounce-back victory in Oklahoma City.
