The Indiana Pacers have done this impossible again.
If you haven’t been following the Pacers this postseason, they’ve turned late-game impossibility into their brand, and Thursday night in Oklahoma City, they authored another chapter in what’s becoming the most ridiculous postseason comeback story we’ve ever seen.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton hit a pull-up jumper with 0.3 seconds left to give Indiana a 111-110 victory over Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, completing yet another double-digit fourth-quarter comeback. For the Pacers, being down 15 points isn’t a deficit, it’s a suggestion, going 5-3 this postseason when falling behind by 15+ points (this is very implausible).
0.7% win probability: Down 7 points with 40 seconds to Milwaukee? Tyrese Haliburton hits a clutch shot, Pacers win.
2.1% win probability: Down 7 points with 57 seconds left against Cleveland? Tyrese Haliburton hits a clutch shot, Pacers win.
0.3% win probability: Down 14 points with 3:25 remaining to the Knicks? Pacers win that one too. You’ll never guess who hit a clutch shot. (I’ll give you a hint: it’s Tyrese Haliburton).
2.1% win probability: down 15 points with 9:42 remaining to OKC. And we know what happened by now.
The Numbers Don’t Add Up (But Somehow Do)
This game makes no sense. In the first half, Indiana turned the ball over 20 times, the most by any team in a half in the NBA Finals in the past 35 years. Twenty turnovers in a half should be a death sentence in the Finals. For the Pacers, they call that “Thursday.” They committed 15 more turnovers than their opponent and still won, the first time that had ever happened in NBA playoff history.
Since 1971, teams leading by 9+ points in the last 3 minutes of an NBA Finals game were 182-0. After OKC lost this game, they’re now 182-1.
Oklahoma City attempted sixteen more shots than Indiana and still lost. That’s hard to do!
Haliburton Magic
Haliburton’s shot with 0.3 seconds left is the latest winner in an NBA Finals game since Michael Jordan’s buzzer-beater for the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. Invoking Michael Jordan feels appropriate because what Haliburton is doing transcends normal basketball space and time.
Haliburton was at the center of it again, hitting his fourth winning or tying shot in the final five seconds of a game this postseason. His fourth. This postseason. Tyrese Haliburton is 6-for-7 (85.7%) when taking a shot to tie or take the lead in the final 90 seconds of the 4th or OT this playoffs.
This wasn’t even a vintage Haliburton night by traditional standards. Haliburton finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists which are solid, but nothing spectacular for him. But when the game was on the line, when 0.3 seconds separated the Pacers from going down 1-0, spectacular came through. It always seems to come through with these guys.
“As a group, we never think the game is over, ever,” Haliburton said. “Honestly speaking, ever.”
Not What a Pro Wants or What a Pro Needs
The Thunder wasted a 38-point performance from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Thirty-eight points from your MVP in Game 1 of the Finals should be enough. It wasn’t.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s big scoring night was marred by inefficiency, as he hit only 14 of his 30 shot attempts (but make 7 out of 8 free throw attempts). When you’re taking 30 shots to get 38 points, you’re working too hard, and it showed in crunch time when the Thunder needed him most.
Before Haliburton’s game-winner, Gilgeous-Alexander missed his own pull-up 2 that would have given his team a three-point lead. That miss opened the door for Indiana, giving Haliburton an opening and we all know at this point what happens when you give them a chance. You get buried.
Chet Holmgren is a consensus top 40 player in the NBA, but he only played 24 minutes, shooting just 2 of 9 from the field for 6 points. OKC coach Mark Daigneault pulled him presumably due to his inefficiency, but his size and rebounding were not available, giving the Pacers a considerable rebounding advantage. with Indiana outrebounding OKC 43-29.
Going Forward
Game 2 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City. OKC controlled this game for 47 minutes and 59.7 seconds, but are down 1-0 in the Finals.
“It is a 48-minute game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “[The Pacers] teach you that lesson more than anyone else in the league, the hard way.”
“We’re just a resilient group. We know how to fight. We never give up, until the buzzer sounds,” Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith said postgame. “We honestly believe no game’s out of reach, no score’s out of reach. If we dig ourselves a hole, we’ll get out of the hole.”
OKC will probably be fine. Counting the postseason, they’re 80-18. They’re the best team, at least on paper, we’ve seen in a while. They were tested by a good Denver team this postseason, losing in games 1 and 3 before defeating them in 7 games. They dismantled a very good Minnesota Timberwolves team in 5. They’ve been tested this year and they have ultimately prevailed in each series so far. The sportsbooks agree: despite being up 1-0 in the series, the implied odds by the betting markets still have the Pacers at just 26.3% to win the series.
Only 26.3%? To the Pacers, that’s basically a lock.
Discover more from Rain City Rebound
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.