NBA Finals Notes: Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton, Thunder, Isaiah Hartenstein, Logo

Another game, another wild comeback, another clutch bucket from Tyrese Haliburton.

The Indiana Pacers continued their improbable postseason run Thursday night, pulling off a stunning 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Haliburton’s go-ahead jumper with 0.3 seconds left — his fourth game-winner or game-tying shot in the final five seconds this postseason — capped Indiana’s latest late-game escape.

“I don’t know what you say about it,” Haliburton told reporters in OKC. “But I know that this group is a resilient group. And we don’t give up until it’s 0.0 on the clock.”

The Pacers didn’t hold a lead until Haliburton’s final shot. They turned the ball over 24 times and were outshot 98-82. They attempted only 21 free throws to Oklahoma City’s 24. And they were out-rebounded 56-39 by a Thunder team that played small for most of the night.

But as has been the theme all postseason, Indiana found a way.

Trust in Haliburton, Belief in the Moment

Haliburton finished with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, and just 2-of-7 from three. His stat line didn’t scream “hero,” but his presence did.

“I swear as soon as he jumped up to shoot, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s good,’” said Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith. “Every time it’s in his hands in those situations, I just think it’s good.”

Myles Turner echoed the sentiment: “Ultimate confidence. Some players say they have it. Tyrese shows it. He’s a baller, a gamer. He wants the shot, and we want him taking it.”

Indiana shot 46.2% from deep (18-of-39), which helped them hang around despite the sloppiness. It wasn’t Haliburton’s shooting that saved them, it was his timing.

Carlisle Praises Group, Nembhard Steps Up

Coach Rick Carlisle, seeking his second title as a head coach, said the makeup of this Pacers team has been years in the making.

“It’s a group I love,” Carlisle said. “It’s a group we’ve invested a lot in — the draft, development, the whole process. And we’re still developing players while competing on the game’s biggest stage.”

Among those players: Andrew Nembhard, who took on the challenge of guarding NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA scored 38 points, but needed 30 shots to get there. Nembhard also knocked down a critical late three.

“If there wasn’t the 65-game rule, he’s an All-Defensive guy, plain and simple,” Haliburton said. “We trust him with the toughest assignment every night.”

Thunder Let One Slip, Again

For the Thunder, it was a bitter flashback. Much like their collapse in Game 3 of the conference semis against Denver, Oklahoma City blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

“It sucks, but we’ve been here before,” forward Jalen Williams said.

Indeed, OKC is 4-0 following losses this postseason, winning those games by an average of 20.5 points. Coach Mark Daigneault framed the loss as a new beginning, not a setback.

“Tonight was a starting point, not an end point,” he said.

Daigneault’s decision to downsize and bench Isaiah Hartenstein for much of the game backfired on the glass, where Indiana, one of the league’s worst rebounding teams, dominated.

“Some of it is the cost of doing business,” Daigneault admitted, pointing to the need for more perimeter speed and switching. “But we’ve got to be better pressuring the ball and containing. They got cracks that hurt us.”

Finals Atmosphere Falls Flat for Some

While the finish was electric, the atmosphere, at least on television, left some fans cold. Critics online said Game 1 lacked Finals flair. The Athletic’s Dan Shanoff called for visual and production upgrades, including placing a Finals logo at center court and airing player introductions live.

It may not have felt like the Finals at times. But the ending? Pure drama.

And if Haliburton and the Pacers keep delivering like this, it won’t take long for this series to feel unforgettable.