Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton speaks out after stunning Thunder in Game 1

Down 15 in the fourth quarter. All looking lost. Not nearly enough going right.

But for these Pacers? Hey man, no problem.

Haliburton hit a midrange jumper with three-tenths of a second left, giving the Pacers their only lead and the only lead they needed in stealing Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City, 111-110, over the Thunder on Thursday night.

What a game. What a win. What a series this should be.

“We’ve had to figure it out in so many different ways,” Haliburton told ABC. “We’re a very resilient group. We keep believing and we stay together.”

For most of the first half, the Thunder did what they do best. Their relentless defense forced Indiana into a highly uncharacteristic 19 turnovers — the most for the Pacers all season and among the most in Finals history.

It looked like a blowout in the making. Then, even when Indiana finally fought back late in the fourth … well, it just couldn’t get over the hump.

But the Pacers kept chipping, and chipping, and chipping away some more. That’s just the Pacer Way.

“Total team effort, so many guys chipped in,” Haliburton said, and man, does he speak the truth.

Andrew Nembhard was brilliant in the fourth quarter, refusing to back down from OKC’s physical defense. Nembhard attacked, yet stayed composed. He also challenged Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the Thunder’s final shot, forcing the MVP into a miss.

Interestingly, there were still about nine seconds left on the clock, and the Pacers trailed by one. Coach Rick Carlisle opted not to use a timeout.

“Man, we got the stop. Coach trusts me, my teammates trust me in those moments,” Haliburton said. “Winning is fun. That’s a great win for us.”

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points. Obi Toppin came off the bench for 17 points, with five big 3-pointers. Myles Turner battles his way to 15 points, and Haliburton and Nembhard added 14 apiece.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 for the Thunder, who dominated all night. Unfortunately for OKC, Game 1 was about 0.3 seconds too long. And when it comes to this postseason, that’s about all the time Haliburton needs.