The Indiana Pacers are due to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday. Indiana flew into OKC on Tuesday, though, and experienced a scary situation in the air due to a tornado warning near the airport. Luckily, the team plane was able to land safely.

Initial reports about the Pacers' team plane struggling to land in Oklahoma City due to the tornado warning came around 6:17 p.m. EST. After circling the airport for some time, the plane was forced to land in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to refuel, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.

“The Indiana Pacers team plane has landed in Tulsa, a team official told SI,” Mannix reported on X, formerly Twitter. “The Pacers' plane circled the OKC area before landing in Tulsa to refuel. A tornado warning is in effect in Oklahoma City.”

At 8:01 p.m. EST, it was reported that the Pacers finally landed safely in Oklahoma City. The team experienced nearly two hours of waiting to land due to a tornado in the area.

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Oklahoma City is centered right in the middle of what's known as “Tornado Alley” in the USA. It's an area that typically sees tornadoes annually from April through June. Early June is considered the peak time of year for tornado season. “Tornado Alley” consists of several states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

With the Pacers safely in Oklahoma City, the team will prepare for Game 1 against the Thunder. Indiana enters the Finals after eliminating the New York Knicks 125-108 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana's appearance in the championship round is the franchise's first since the 1999-00 season.

Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam have become quite the duo for Indiana. The two Pacers stars led the way throughout the playoffs so far and need to remain at the top of their games to beat out the red-hot Thunder.