Five takeaways from Game 1 of NBA Finals

That makes three game-winners in the playoffs, plus two last-second shots to give the Pacers a chance to win in overtime. Haliburton had pedestrian numbers in Game 1 overall — 14 points, six assists, 10 rebounds — but in the final seconds of a big game, there's no one better. The Bucks, Cavs and Knicks could have told the Thunder the same.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs more help

NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the Thunder's entire offense down the stretch. He was the only Thunder player to score in the last five minutes, putting up 10 of his 38 points in the final quarter. SGA added three steals and three assists, but it could have been more if his teammates had hit their shots.

Twice, Gilgeous-Alexander collapsed the Pacers defense with drives, then found teammates behind the arc. Both Lu Dort and Jalen Williams missed open shots. SGA himself missed with 10 seconds to go, guarded by Andrew Nembhard and appearing to anticipate a double-team from the Pacers that never came.

That was the key to the Pacers defense. The Pacers mostly refrained from sending double-teams, choosing to live with Gilgeous-Alexander's scoring if they could limit his playmaking. It's similar to how they treated Donovan Mitchell in their series with the Cavs. Williams scored 17 and Dort made five threes for 15 points, but the other Thunder didn't do enough to get the win.

3. Thunder's defensive pressure was stifling — for one half

Indiana looked stunned during the first half of Game 1 while facing the Thunder's relentless ball pressure, compounded by the addition of Wallace to the starting lineup. The Pacers committed the third-fewest turnovers in the NBA this season, then proceeded to turn the ball over 19 times in the first half. Their saving grace was that the Thunder only scored nine points off those 19 turnovers.

In the second half, the Pacers started protecting the ball. They turned the ball over only five times in the second half, with zero turnovers from Haliburton, Nembhard and Pascal Siakam. The result was that the Pacers attempted 47 shots in the second half compared to their 35 shots in the first, and it's the biggest reason they scored 66 points after the break, and 45 before.

4. Pacers played bigger than the Thunder

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault changed his starting lineup for Game 1, sitting Isaiah Hartenstein in favor of second-year guard Cason Wallace. The move did lead to the Thunder forcing all those turnovers, but they gave up size on the other end — and rebounds.

Siakam grabbed 10 rebounds. Myles Turner had nine. At 6-foot-6, Aaron Nesmith got 12 rebounds, and Haliburton had 10. Meanwhile the Thunder's center duo of Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren combined for only 41 minutes, 15 points and 15 boards.

The biggest difference was that Indiana's big men could stay on the court and continue to stretch the floor. Turner made two three-pointers. Thomas Bryant hit his one shot from behind the arc. And Obi Toppin changed the game by going 5-for-8 on threes, including a 2-for-2 mark in the fourth.

5. Andrew Nembhard was the unsung hero

Nembhard is a 2022 second-round pick out of Gonzaga who is making just over $2M this season. In Game 1, he was invaluable for the Pacers defending Gilgeous-Alexander, delivering six total assists, putting up eight points and three assists in the final quarter and sinking one three-pointer over fellow Canadian SGA.

The Thunder defended Haliburton well, often deploying Dort and Alex Caruso to face-guard the All-Star and deny him the ball. But Nembhard was secure enough with the ball to not fold against the steal-heavy Thunder defenders. OKC could take out Haliburton, but it didn't derail the Pacers offense after the Thunder could no longer force turnovers at will in the second half.

Nembhard only turned the ball over twice. He stayed cool in crunch time, sinking two free throws after drawing a foul on Caruso with 1:22 out. He did whiff on a three-point attempt — but even that led to a Siakam offensive rebound and layup to cut the lead to one.

The key to breaking the Thunder's defensive chokehold in the second half was safe ball handling and confident offensive play. Nembhard did all that in the biggest moments in Game 1.