TYRESE Haliburton scored the go-ahead basket to lead Indiana Pacers to a 111-110 escape over Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night (Friday morning in the Philippines) at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
After a missed shot by Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Haliburton gave the Pacers the lead at 111-110 with his jumper against the defense of OKC guard Cason Wallace.
The Thunder still had a chance to secure the win with 0.3 seconds remaining in the contest, but Pacers center Myles Turner disrupted the alley-oop attempt on OKC’s Chet Holmgren.
Haliburton finished the game with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds along with six assists to help the Pacers take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.
“We got the stop and coach trusts us in those moments to not call a timeout, trusts me in those moments, guys trust me and just trying to make a play,” Haliburton said on his game-winner.
Pascal Siakam starred with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, Obi Toppin contributed 17 points, while Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith scored 15, 14, and 10 points, respectively, for Indiana.
The Pacers had a sluggish start, committing 20 turnovers in the first half, before gradually erasing the Thunder’s lead, which had reached a maximum of 15 points early in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder still led 108-99 with two minutes left in the game, but the Pacers hit two consecutive three-pointers from Nesmith and Nembhard to narrow the gap to 105-108.
The Thunder extended their lead to 110-105 with a basket from Gilgeous-Alexander, but two free throws from Nembhard and a putback from Siakam brought the Pacers closer at 109-110.
“Basketball is fun, man, winning is fun. That’s a great win for us,” said Haliburton. “When you have a half like that, when you’re throwing the ball to the other side and we only gave up nine (points off turnovers). That’s not that bad when you think about it that way.”
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 38 points, Jalen Williams added 17 points, while Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso contributed 15 and 11 points, respectively, for Oklahoma City./PN
BOX SCORE:
INDIANA 111 — Siakam 19, Toppin 17, Turner 15, Nembhard 14, Haliburton 14, Nesmith 10, McConnell 9, Bryant 5, Mathurin 5, Sheppard 3.
OKLAHOMA CITY 110 — Gilgeous-Alexander 38, Jal. Williams 17, Dort 15, Caruso 11, Hartenstein 9, Holmgren 6, Wallace 6, Joe 5, Wiggins 3, Mitchell 0, K. Williams 0.
Quarterscores: 20-29, 45-57, 76-85, 111-110.
