Pacers stun Oklahoma in Game 1 of the Finals

Many had predicted a boring NBA Finals between two "small market" teams, with one of them being a heavy favorite. Forget about that. Indiana stole Game 1, defeating Oklahoma on the road 111–110. Once again, the hero was Tyrese Haliburton, but it wouldn’t be wrong to say that every Pacers player contributed to this major comeback. Thunder players, coaches, and fans were left speechless. Oklahoma had everything in its hands—up by 15 with nine minutes to go, and still leading by five with a minute and a half left. But it wasn’t enough. The Indiana players have a winning gene that simply won’t let them give up. They played perfect defense and made things work on offense. Andrew Nembhard sank two free throws, then missed a three-pointer that could have tied the game, but Pascal Siakam grabbed the offensive rebound and put the ball back in the basket.

Nembhard was again in the spotlight, this time for the defense he played on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He forced the MVP winner into a tough shot, which he missed, and the ball ended up in Haliburton's hands. The point guard has hit game-winners multiple times this postseason, and he did it again. He didn’t look particularly confident, searching for the right play for a while before realizing there was only one option—take the shot. He pulled up from mid-range and, right in Kayshon Wallace’s face, drained the game-winning basket!

Only Indiana knows how to win in Oklahoma

How did the Pacers even get into a position to win this game? Until Haliburton's basket, they hadn’t led at all (the last tie was at 10–10 in the first quarter), and at one point, they were down by 15. In the first half alone, they turned the ball over 19 times, and nothing suggested a comeback was possible. But somehow, Rick Carlisle managed to wake them up. Desire, effort, and hunger for victory are the things that cannot be missing in moments like this, and that’s exactly why Indiana managed to come back. Bit by bit, step by step, they chipped away at the Thunder's lead until OKC completely lost control.

They started to doubt themselves, and that’s what killed them. They stopped playing smart basketball, relying solely on Gilgeous-Alexander’s individual brilliance—which he certainly possesses—but to win a Finals game, someone else also has to step up. Every missed shot by Oklahoma ended up in Pacers’ hands, and Indiana grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. Altogether, they had 17 more rebounds than OKC, which was a key factor in the win. Another key was the assist differential (24–13 for Indiana). The Pacers trusted each other, encouraged each other, lifted each other up. Until the very end, they believed they could win—and they showed everyone they could. They started the game poorly, Oklahoma looked more composed, more confident, more organized. At times, it seemed like it would be a walk in the park for Shai and company—maybe that’s what they thought too—and they were heavily punished for it.