For most of game one of the 2025 NBA Finals on Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder were in complete control. The Thunder had the lead for the majority of the contest and had the support from the hometown crowd at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. When Jalen Williams delivered a dunk with just under 10 minutes remaining, it felt the Thunder would cruise to victory, as they had a commanding 94-79 lead.
The Pacers simply did not give up. A major reason for the Pacers’s exceptional fourth quarter play was their timely shot making from long range down the stretch. Indiana made six three pointers in a span of five minutes, and with 48 seconds left pulled to within a point on a field goal from Pascal Siakam. Indiana then got a defensive rebound from Aaron Nesmith off a shot attempt from NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Then we saw the Tyrese Haliburton show. Haliburton dribbled the basketball down the court and made a game-winning jump shot with only three tenths of a second left to give Indiana a dramatic 111-110 win.
Six Pacers reached double digits in scoring in a complete team effort. Power forward Pascal Siakam of Douala, Cameroon led the way with 19 points. Siakam recently won the Larry Bird Award as the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, power forward Obi Toppin of Brooklyn, New York had 17 points off the bench, center Myles Turner of Bedford, Texas had 15 points, Canadian point guard Andrew Nembhard of Aurora, Ontario and guard Tyrese Haliburton of Oshkosh, Wisconsin had 14 points each, and forward Aaron Nesmith of Charleston, South Carolina had 10 points. Game two is Sunday in Oklahoma City.
