Despite Game 1 Loss, the OKC Thunder Can Position Itself Accordingly

The Oklahoma City Thunder took a heart-breaking loss at the hands of a Tyrese Haliburton last-second pull-up jumper to eclipse the hometown team by just a single point, giving the Indiana Pacers a 1-0 lead in the 2025 NBA Finals.

With what was a game controlled by the Thunder, the Pacers methodically made a significant run down the stretch when it meant most, and ultimately capitalized as the team has done in clutch situations consistently throughout this season.

Most indicators would point this to have been a clear win for Oklahoma City. Twenty-five Pacers turnovers to the Thunder's seven, 1 Pacers steal to the Thunder's 14, 82 Pacers field goal attempts to the Thunder's 98. But one thing that didn't swing Oklahoma City's way, as well as a few others, was the efficiency aspect.

Oklahoma City could not shoot as well as Indiana was on Thursday night, as the Thunder shot a mere 39.8% from the field but a fairly decent 36.7% outing from three as a team was not enough to curb the 47.6% shooting from the field and 46.2% from three the Pacers put up on the night. Despite a 38-point outing from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it just wasn't enough in the end to come out on top.

Though, even in a crushing loss at home as this in the most vital series nearly all of the players involved have played in, Oklahoma City has some takeaways to be optimistic of heading into Game 2 and in the rest of the series.

Firstly, yes, forcing 25 turnovers and not ending up victorious is... difficult to do to say the least. Only up 12 in the half, it felt as if the Thunder were dismantling the Pacers based on the flow of the game and Oklahoma City's activity on defense. But Oklahoma City could not quite get things rolling either in transition or in a half-court setting, at least not enough to create a lead larger than 15.

But even so, it was shown that Indiana was disgruntled through three quarters in terms of taking care of the ball. A well-rounded double-digit scoring game from six Pacers nullified that, as their shot-making efficiency overruled its inability to take care of the ball.

The Thunder has an innate ability to make shots difficult as a cohesive unit. Limiting Indiana's efficiency in that regard, paired with making life hard for them on the ball will be paramount and something that this team can do going forward.

Two players who had a large impact on the game came from Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein, at a less noticeable level than Gilgeous-Alexander. Dort, as usual, defended his heart out and provided both an offensive and morale boost, knocking down five threes on the game. Hartenstein, coming off the bench, played his role well, logging 17 minutes to post nine points and nine boards during his time on the floor.

There are things to be concerned with, but there are also things to be optimistic about for Thunder fans heading into the rest of the series. For now, taking it a game at a time and adjusting is key for Oklahoma City to regroup.