Pacers Adjust, Thunder Stall: Inside Game 1’s Final Frame

Then the final 20 seconds happened, and the Indiana Pacers, as they’ve done all postseason, delivered a shock to the system.

Gilgeous-Alexander missed a fairly clean mid-range look, the type he buries in his sleep. On the other end, Tyrese Haliburton caught the ball, wiggled, faded, and hit a contested two from just inside the arc with 0.3 seconds left. Indiana’s first lead of the night was the only one that mattered. Pacers 111, Thunder 110.

Haliburton finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and the shot that handed the Thunder their second home loss in these playoffs. He was outplayed for most of the night. He won the game anyway.

The Pacers spent the first half getting absolutely shredded by OKC’s pressure. They turned it over 19 times before the break, 25 overall. The Thunder took 16 more shots. By all measures, Indiana should’ve lost by double digits. But the Pacers stayed close with clutch threes, timely stops, and just enough ball movement once the chaos settled down.

Indiana hit six triples in the fourth quarter. The Thunder hit zero. That was your game.

Myles Turner, Obi Toppin and Aaron Nesmith all came through with big-time plays late. Rick Carlisle kept the right guys on the floor and Haliburton delivered the final punch.

The Thunder still look like the more complete team. But they’ve now seen what Milwaukee, Cleveland, and New York already learned the hard way: Indiana doesn’t go away. And if you give them an opening late, they’ll sprint through it.

It’s the third time the Pacers have stolen Game 1 on the road this postseason. In the previous two, they also won Game 2.

The Thunder have only lost back-to-back games twice all season. That stat will be tested Sunday (8 p.m., ABC)

The Pacers just keep throwing haymakers. And more often than not, they’re landing.