“Man, basketball is fun” - Pacers hero on the buzzer-beater that stunned OKC

The Indiana Pacers shocked everyone by winning Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals on Thursday, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 despite trailing by 15 points in the final quarter. Tyrese Haliburton emerged as the hero.

Although the point guard scored only 14 points, his last two were the most crucial, as he sank a jumper in the final moments, leaving just 0.3 seconds on the clock. OKC attempted an alley-oop, but Myles Turner masterfully defended the rim.

“He trusts me in those moments”

After the game, Haliburton told ABC that coach Rick Carlisle had full confidence in him to make the play, without calling a timeout after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed his last shot. The Pacers’ No. 0 acknowledged the significance of the win and emphasized the need to stay focused on the series.

“We got the stop and coach [Carlisle] trusts us in those moments to not call timeouts,” Haliburton told ABC as he looked back on his game-winning shot. “He trusts me in those moments, the guys trust me and I was just trying to make a play. So, man, basketball is fun. Winning is fun. That’s a great win for us.”

Indiana the comeback kings

Haliburton’s basket demonstrated his clutch abilities. The Pacers’ point guard has made five game-winning or game-tying shots in the last five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in the playoffs. Since 1997, Indiana legend Reggie Miller has also made five, with only LeBron James having more, with eight shots in such situations.

The Pacers’ victory marked their fifth comeback from a 15-point deficit in these playoffs, the most in a postseason since 1998.

“Try to chip away at it and try to hang in”

In his post-game press conference, Carlisle highlighted what helped them turn the game around from the first half: improving in the paint and limiting turnovers.

“They were getting to the rim a lot, the turnovers were the first thing that we talked about,” he told reporters.

“It seemed like we were doing a good job on the boards, but they had 20 more shots than we did in the first half. It was just, ‘Hit the reset button, let’s go whistle to whistle in the third quarter, try to chip away at it and try to hang in.’”

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