After leading for literally almost the entire game, the Oklahoma City Thunder dropped Game 1 of the NBA Finals to the Indiana Pacers when Tyrese Haliburton hit a midrange jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining to give the Pacers their first lead of the game at 111-110. The Thunder’s tip-in attempt was no good, and now OKC trails 0-1 in the series.
OKC has been here before. The Thunder conceded a last-second three to Aaron Gordon and the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, but they bounced back in Game 2 with a 149-106 win over the Nuggets. After an embarrassing 143-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder rebounded with a 128-126 win on the road in Game 4, followed by a 124-94 win at home in Game 5 to close out the series. Now it’s time for the Thunder to continue the trend and remind everyone why they are the favorites to win the NBA Finals.
Strong mindset within this group 🤝 pic.twitter.com/1ImbcO7nQN
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 7, 2025
Despite a 12-point lead at half, a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, and a 38-point night for reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC allowed Indiana to knock down 6-of-10 threes in the final period. OKC’s defense was energetic early, turning Indiana over 19 times by halftime, but the Thunder was unable to convert those turnovers to points in an effective manner due to one of OKC’s worst shooting performances of the entire Playoffs.
Give Indiana credit. They came into Game 1 as an underdog that many had written off, but they responded to every big hit from the Thunder and pulled out an improbable win. OKC obviously cannot afford to head back to Indiana down 0-2 in the series, but the Thunder knows what is at stake here.
OKC doesn’t just need to win this game: they need to win it big. Now is not the time for weird lineup experiments by Mark Daigneault, and Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren have to be better. As long as OKC can get back to doing the things that they do well, they should be able to tie up the series before heading out on the road for Games 3 and 4.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: ABC
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Indiana Pacers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Pacers
- PG: Tyrese Haliburton
- SG: Andrew Nembhard
- SF: Aaron Nesmith
- PF: Pascal Siakam
- C: Myles Turner
Injury Report
Thunder
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
Pacers
- Isaiah Jackson (torn right Achilles tendon) is OUT.
- Jarace Walker (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 15-16 against the Pacers in the regular season (9-5 at home, 6-11 on the road) and 0-1 in the Playoffs (0-1 at home, 0-0 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Pacers 4 times, lost it 5 times, and tied 6 times.
- The Thunder won the season series 2-0 this season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder trails the Pacers 0-1 in the NBA Finals (0-1 at home, 0-0 on the road).