Pacers Stun OKC Thunder in Game 1 With Tyrese Haliburton Buzzer-Beater
Mama.. There goes that man again. Tyrese “ice in his veins” Haliburton once again continues to be clutch when it matters most. This time in the 2025 NBA Finals against the Thunder with just five seconds left to go in the game. In a total shocker, the Indiana Pacers stun the OKC Thunder in Game 1 with a Tyrese Haliburton buzzer-beater.
He’s done this before during the playoffs. Upsetting teams and knocking the wind completely out his opponents’ fans in their own arena. And on Thursday night, Haliburton again made sure his presence was felt on the court.
During Game 1 the Thunder had looked to have things all sown up and in the bag. Fries and all. They literally had the lead the entire way till almost the very end. In fact, the Pacers’ first and only lead came in the last second of the game. Wild.
Additionally, in order to win Indiana had an entire mountain to climb. They would have to comeback by 15 points in the hole to have the victory. And they did it.
In the fourth quarter the Pacers systematically shrunk OKC’s lead. Narrowing it down till the Thunder only led by one single point. The moment was not too big for Tyrese. With two seconds on the clock he fires… a long two but it’s good with less than a second on the clock! Game over.
The Indiana Pacers won a game with 24 turnovers and having a lead only for 0.3 seconds. A smash and grab job. Something that seems unbelievable every time you read it.
Pacers Stun OKC Thunder in Game 1 With Tyrese Haliburton Buzzer-Beater
Nevertheless, there’s some interesting history that has been made in Game 1 by the Pacers. Since 1971, teams behind and trailing by nine-plus points going into the last three minutes of a NBA Finals game; teams were 0-182 in the NBA Finals entering Thursday in this scenario. They usually just lose. But now, Indiana has changed the history books to 1-182.
Lastly, some good coaching must be going on as well. As the National Basketball Association noted, “There have been 3 4th-quarter comebacks of 15+ points in the NBA Finals since 1971. The last 2 were by Rick Carlisle-coached teams. First in— 6/2/2011: Mavericks 95, Heat 93; Then in— 6/5/2025: Pacers 111, Thunder 110. Game 1 was the Pacers’ fifth comeback victory from a deficit of 15 or more points in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the most by a team in a single postseason since 1998.” Rick obviously knows a thing or two about getting a team prepared for crunch time.
So then, congratulations to Indiana on stealing Game 1. This is going to be a great series. Game 2 is on Sunday, June 8.
**Want Even More Sports, News, Hot Takes, Stats as well as Athlete Celebrity Sighting Updates; Insights as well as Trends? Well, be sure to join all of us Sports Feens over on Youtube to get an additional sports fix; and also don’t forget to check out all of our new Podcast topics and episodes. Plus, get fast highlights and trivia daily by following us on TikTok. Just Click HERE**
Thoughts on Pacers Stun OKC Thunder in Game 1 With Tyrese Haliburton Buzzer-Beater!? Well let’s connect! We are always around on social media posting as well as chatting away. And we would love to hear some POV from you. Therefore, join the discussion and talk all things Sports Feen; athletics as well as breaking industry news related with us by dropping a comment or two. Get into our comment section on YT; or also hit us up on our TikTok page or tweet us @SportsFeen.
