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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Indiana Pacers achieved another impressive victory, this time against the top-rated defense in the league.
In the NBA Finals showdown between the Pacers’ offense and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s defense, the Pacers emerged victorious after overcoming a 15-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to secure Game 1 on Thursday. After a lackluster first half where they managed only 45 points on 54 possessions, coupled with a staggering 20 turnovers, Indiana turned the tide in the second half, scoring 66 points on 48 possessions and committing only five turnovers.
With just under 10 minutes remaining and trailing by 15, the Pacers rallied to score 32 points on their last 19 offensive plays, culminating in Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winning jumper with a mere 0.3 seconds left on the clock. The final score was a dramatic 111-110 triumph, marking just the Thunder’s second loss to an Eastern Conference team this season.
Here are some insights, statistics, and analysis on how the Pacers improved their ball control and found better shooting opportunities in the latter half…
The Thunder have forced an astonishing average of 18.1 turnovers per 100 possessions, the highest rate seen in the last decade of playoffs, with 59% of these turnovers being live balls. By the conclusion of this series, they could very well shatter the record for most steals in a single postseason.
Their 12 steals during the first half of Game 1 set a record for the most steals in a half of an NBA Finals game. They capitalized on Pacers’ ball-handling mistakes and effectively rotated to disrupt passes.
* Steals have been officially tracked since the 1973-74 season, with the previous record standing at 10.
The Thunder’s aggressive defense can be challenging to navigate, but if you manage to evade it, opportunities for high-quality shots can arise on the weak side. In the regular season, Oklahoma City allowed a league-high average of 4.4 corner three-pointers per game.
In Thursday’s matchup, the Pacers made 10 of 16 corner three-point attempts, including an impressive 7 of 9 in the second half. They are now shooting 48.5% from the corners in the playoffs.
In the second half of Game 1, four of the Pacers’ 10 three-pointers originated from weak-side opportunities.
Early in the third quarter, Haliburton utilized a ball screen from Myles Turner and, when he halted his dribble, seemed poised to find Turner rolling toward the basket. However, multiple Thunder defenders collapsed on Turner, prompting Haliburton to pass to Pascal Siakam at the arc instead. With defenders focusing on the paint, Aaron Nesmith found himself alone on the weak side…
Haliburton now boasts 31 secondary (hockey) assists in the playoffs, tying him (with Stephen Curry in 2022) for the most recorded by any player in a postseason during the past 12 years.
After a challenging first half, Obi Toppin delivered 11 points in the second half, shooting 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. His last three-pointer came from the right wing, following an impressive drive from Nesmith, who ingeniously navigated through a trio of Thunder defenders in the paint…
This moment will be remembered, especially considering how the Thunder defended during the Pacers’ final possession.
At the outset of Game 1, the Pacers were limited to just five points in their first nine offensive possessions, with their two baskets stemming from advantageous mismatches inside. After defensive switches, Siakam capitalized on Cason Wallace, scoring over the 6-foot-3 guard.
Down the stretch, Siakam gathered crucial points by securing offensive rebounds against shorter Thunder players.
With 3:24 left in the game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was at the free-throw line, and Wallace substituted for Isaiah Hartenstein, making the 6-foot-6 Gilgeous-Alexander the tallest player for the Thunder on the court. In the ensuing play, Siakam grabbed an offensive rebound over the MVP, was fouled by Wallace, and after a lane violation by the Thunder, he converted his free throw into a point.
Then, trailing by three with under a minute remaining, and with the Thunder remaining small, Siakam outmaneuvered Gilgeous-Alexander for another offensive rebound. He quickly put it back, narrowing the deficit to just one point…
The Thunder played for over seven minutes without either Chet Holmgren or Hartenstein and were outscored by seven points during that stretch, being outrebounded 11-2. Overall, they claimed 52.9% of available rebounds while Hartenstein was on the floor, but only 38.4% when he sat.
One notable play from the game occurred during the Pacers’ last possession of the third quarter. T.J. McConnell had the ball at the top, with Alex Caruso defending Siakam in the corner. Bennedict Mathurin, guarded by Gilgeous-Alexander, came up from the right block to set a ball screen for McConnell.
Gilgeous-Alexander could have switched to guard McConnell, but Caruso seemed eager to get involved and switched onto Mathurin as he approached the ball. This left Siakam alone in the corner, and McConnell swiftly passed the ball there, catching Caruso off guard in the middle of his switch…
At the start of the fourth quarter, Mathurin successfully beat Caruso twice—first on an out-of-bounds play and then on a drive to the basket.
The final shot of the game was yet another critical basket from Haliburton but also an opportunity missed for Caruso.
As Haliburton crossed half-court, defended by Wallace, Caruso was positioned to double-team him. However, that would have left Siakam unmarked on the right side. Nesmith was approaching from the left with a screen, but Haliburton seemed hesitant to involve a second defender (Gilgeous-Alexander), so he continued his path to the right.
With just three seconds remaining, Caruso took a step toward the ball, and had he followed through, he might have pressured Haliburton into a significantly tougher shot. Instead, he retreated toward Siakam, who was cutting toward the basket.
Perhaps he didn’t trust that he had support behind him. Maybe Haliburton diverted his attention with a glance at Siakam’s cut. Perhaps he simply wanted to prevent Siakam from collecting another offensive rebound. Whatever the reasoning, Caruso elected to retreat instead of pursuing maximum aggression, which had been the Thunder’s hallmark throughout the playoffs.
If there were an award for “Defensive Player of the Playoffs” for the first three rounds, Caruso would have likely been the recipient. However, in Game 1 of the Finals, he found himself at the center of several pivotal plays as the Pacers rediscovered their rhythm in the second half.
We can likely anticipate improved performances from both teams come Game 2 on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ABC).
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John Schuhmann serves as a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can reach out to him via email, explore his archives, or follow him on X.
The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of the NBA, its teams, or Warner Bros. Discovery.
