How Indiana stole Game 1 vs OKC

byBelly


Indiana overcomes 15-point
deficit behind late-game brilliance to steal series
opener

In their playoffs full of
improbable comebacks, the Indiana Pacers added their most dramatic
one yet – stealing Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals on the road
against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-110.

For the 43 minutes and 59.7
seconds of game time, the Pacers never once led. But as they’ve
done all playoffs long, they clawed their way back from a daunting
double-digit deficit and delivered a perfectly-timed knockout punch
when it mattered most.

How did the Pacers do it? The
shift began in the third quarter, when Indiana initiated a pair of
offensive sets to get Benedict Mathurin involved. First, they ran
simultaneous actions: a high pick-and-roll between Tyrese
Haliburton and Pascal Siakam at the top of the key, while Thomas
Bryant set a pindown for Mathurin on the wing. Mathurin caught the
pass, drove middle, and dropped it off to Bryant for a thunderous
one-handed jam.

On the ensuing sideline
out-of-bounds play, the Pacers simplified things – Mathurin ran a
high pick-and-roll with Bryant at the top. He got downhill quickly
and drew a foul on Isaiah Hartenstein. Though OKC challenged the
call, the review was unsuccessful – costing the Thunder their last
challenge and later proving costly. Mathurin knocked down both free
throws, trimming the lead to single digits at 70-79 for the first
time since the first quarter.

After an OKC three, Indiana
immediately countered by Indiana as TJ McConnell pushed the ball on
the other side right after the make. Using his quickness, McConnell
blew past SGA on an empty corner downhill drive and got a paint
touch off of it. Hartenstein left his man Bryant on the left corner
to challenge the drive, then McConnell delivered a no-look pass to
Bryant who then knocked down a three to answer, bringing the lead
back to single digits again.

Those two Mathurin plays were
important as OKC shifted their focus to him. With OKC now devoting
more defensive attention, the Pacers continued manipulating
matchups. On the final Indiana possession of the quarter, McConnell
motioned for Mathurin to set a screen. The Thunder attempted a
pre-switch between Caruso and SGA, trying to neutralize the threat.
But the slight miscommunication allowed McConnell to zip a pass to
Siakam, who was left alone in the right corner. Siakam calmly
buried the three, bringing Indiana within six at 76-82. SGA
answered with a buzzer-beater triple, but the Pacers had already
shifted the tide.

Still, that was all Indiana
needed – to cut the lead down to single digits before the start of
the 4th quarter to make it a manageable deficit, as they try to
conjure their signature end game runs that they have been doing all
playoffs long.

OKC even pushed the lead to as
high as 15 points, 94-79, after a turnover by the Pacers that led
to a Jalen Williams breakaway jam – but Indiana never
panicked.

The Pacers just would not quit
and as they have been doing in these playoffs, fought and crawled
back into the game.

A series of scores for the
Pacers ensued: Mathurin attacked Caruso for a strong layup. Then,
Andrew Nembhard blew by Caruso for a tough and-one. Myles Turner
hit a corner three. Obi Toppin knocked down his fifth three of the
game. In just a matter of minutes, the lead had evaporated to
91-98.

Indiana got even closer with yet
another beautiful sideline out of bounds play: Nembhard got the
ball to the middle off the screen from Myles Turner, then he turned
around to set yet another screen for Haliburton (who inbounded the
ball), but instead it turned to a flare screen and Turner popped
out. He got Chet Holmgren off his feet and proceeded to drill a
tough stepback three off the glass from the left corner to cut the
lead to 4, 94-98, marking a 12-2 over the last three minutes for
the Pacers.

Next time down, Indiana went to
Turner again as Nembhard found him again off the pick and pop
action for a right elbow jumper. 96-100 OKC

Off another OKC miss, Haliburton
grabbed the rebound, ran the length of the floor, surveyed it for
potential passing options, before doing a hesitation dribble that
confused SGA. It allowed Haliburton to blow past him and earn a
layup on the break – something the Pacers had not had much of this
game.

Oklahoma City responded with a
tough SGA finish and four free throws to stretch the margin back to
nine, 105-96. But Indiana came right back, with Aaron Nesmith
burying a left-corner three off a broken play to make it
102-108.

Next play down, Indiana survived
once again after Jalen Williams missed a wide-open three-point
attempt. Nembhard brought the ball the other way and did a series
of dribble moves on SGA before drilling the impressive stepback
three from the left wing. The Pacers have now come all the way from
15 down to cut the lead to just 3, 105-108 with 2 minutes left in
the game.

The Thunder briefly steadied
themselves with a Lu Dort block and an SGA layup to go up 110-105,
but that would be their last field goal of the night.

Nembhard calmly sank two free
throws, and Siakam followed a crucial block on SGA with a hustle
play on the other end – putting back a missed three to make it
109-110 with under a minute to play.

After forcing two stops – one on
Williams, another on SGA – the Pacers got the ball back off a
rebound with the game on the line. Rick Carlisle trusted his team
to find the right shot. It was when Haliburton delivered: an
off-balance 18-foot jumper from the right wing that rattled in to
give the Pacers their first – and only – lead of the game with 0.3
seconds remaining.

OKC was not able to get a shot
off for the final possession of the game and thus completed another
wild Pacers comeback.

– – –

In the end, OKC missed their
shots on offense as they had a hard time protecting the lead, while
Indiana got to their offense more with flow and rhythm in the
4th.

The Thunder shot 5-of-17 in the
final frame and they were not able to make shots as Indiana chipped
away possession by possession. Meanwhile, the Pacers executed with
precision and confidence. Whether through elaborate sideline plays
or simple two-man actions, they kept creating looks – and more
importantly, they kept converting them.

Game 1 was a microcosm of
Indiana’s identity in these playoffs: resilient, relentless, and
fearless in the face of deficits. With the win, they’ve now stolen
home court and placed all the pressure on Oklahoma City to respond
in Game 2.



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