Basketball can be a cruel, beautiful mess sometimes. If you watched the opening of the 2025 Finals, you know exactly what I mean. For three and a half quarters, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked like the juggernaut everyone expected. They were the number-one seed, a 68-win powerhouse playing in front of a home crowd that was literally shaking the cameras. It felt over. Honestly, most of us were probably checking our phones by the middle of the fourth, wondering if the Indiana Pacers even belonged on the same floor as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Then the rock started breaking.
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The nba finals gmae 1 of 2025 wasn't just a basketball game; it was a 48-minute lesson in why you never, ever leave early. The Pacers pulled off a 111-110 stunner that shifted the entire gravity of the series. They were down by 15 points with less than ten minutes to go. In a stadium as loud as the Paycom Center, that kind of deficit usually feels like 50. But Rick Carlisle’s squad didn't care about the noise or the fact that SGA was putting up a masterclass 38 points.
The 0.3 Second Shot That Silenced Oklahoma City
We have to talk about that final possession because it’s going to be in every "Greatest Finals Moments" montage for the next twenty years. The Pacers didn't even call a timeout. They got a stop, and with 11 seconds left, Tyrese Haliburton just... went. No panic. No frantic waving of arms. He drove, sized up the defense, and pulled up for a jumper that hit nothing but net with 0.3 seconds on the clock.
It was his fifth go-ahead or game-tying shot in the final 30 seconds of a game during that 2025 playoff run. That’s a record, by the way. He passed Ray Allen’s 2009 mark. It's kinda wild to think about a kid from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, walking into OKC and snatching the soul out of a 68-win team, but that’s exactly what happened.
Why the Comeback Was Actually Possible
Most people point to the shot, but the real work happened when Carlisle subbed in five players—Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin, and Myles Turner—at the 9:42 mark. The Pacers were trailing 94-79. It looked bleak.
- Obi Toppin’s Efficiency: He only took two shots in that final stretch. Both were threes. Both went in.
- The "Chip Away" Mentality: Carlisle told the media later that the plan was basically just to "pound the rock."
- Defensive Pressure: They forced OKC into uncharacteristic mistakes, outscoring them 35-25 in the fourth quarter.
What the Stats Don’t Tell You About This Upset
If you look at the box score, you’d think the Thunder won. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a monster. 38 points, 14-of-30 from the field. He was doing SGA things—slippery drives, mid-range buckets that looked impossible to guard. But the Pacers' depth was the secret sauce. While Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 19 points and 10 rebounds, they had contributions from everywhere. Aaron Nesmith was a maniac on the boards, grabbing 12 rebounds.
There’s a weird nuance to this game that people forget: Indiana won despite 19 turnovers. Usually, if you turn the ball over 19 times against a transition team like the Thunder, you’re losing by thirty. But the Pacers out-shot them from deep and played a brand of "island" defense that forced SGA to beat them one-on-one while shutting down everyone else. Chet Holmgren had a rough night shooting, and the Thunder's rhythm just evaporated when it mattered most.
The Paul George Connection
It’s a bit poetic, isn't it? Both of these franchises are built on the remnants of Paul George trades. The Pacers got Haliburton (eventually, through the Sabonis deal), and the Thunder got SGA. It was the two branches of the same tree finally colliding on the biggest stage.
Why Game 1 Set the Tone for the Seven-Game War
Even though the Thunder eventually won the 2025 championship in seven games, Game 1 was the moment the world realized the Pacers weren't a fluke. They were the first team in the play-by-play era to win a game after being down 14+ with under three minutes left (they did that earlier against the Knicks), and they brought that same "never dead" energy to the Finals.
It changed the way OKC played the rest of the series. Mark Daigneault had to rethink his rotations. He actually benched Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in the closing minutes of Game 1, a move that backfired spectacularly as the Pacers dominated the glass.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're looking back at this game to understand modern NBA trends, there are a few things to keep in mind for future seasons:
- Depth over Superstars: In high-pressure Finals environments, a bench that can go 8 or 9 deep (like Indiana’s) is often more valuable than a top-heavy roster if the stars have an off night.
- The Value of the Non-Timeout: Haliburton's decision to push the ball instead of letting the defense set up after a timeout is a growing trend among elite playmakers.
- Defensive Efficiency Matters: The Pacers' defensive rating improved to 9th in the league by the end of the 2025 season, proving that "all-offense" teams can't win playoff games without a legitimate identity on the other end.
Watch the film on that final 9-minute stretch. It isn't just about making shots; it's about the spacing created by Turner and Toppin that allowed Haliburton the room to operate. The Thunder's defenders were "cheating" toward the paint all night, and Indiana finally punished them for it when it counted.