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OKLAHOMA CITY — In a game where the Indiana Pacers overcame a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton drained the biggest shot of the night. Reminiscent of Aaron Gordon's game-winner in the Denver Nuggets' 121-119 victory in Game 1 of their second-round series, the Thunder have been here before. But how will they respond on the NBA's brightest stage in Game 2?
For 47 minutes, the Thunder kept the Pacers at bay in Game 1. However, the Pacers never trailed too far behind until they coughed up their 25th turnover to Jalen Williams. He raced down the floor for a loud finish that brought the Thunder fans, who've waited 13 years to see their team return to the NBA Finals, to their feet. With 9:42 left in Game 1, Oklahoma City grabbed its largest lead (94-79) of the night.
After the loss, Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein addressed the fourth-quarter collapse that led to a one-point loss.
“We had control of the game the whole game. So, it was more like the Denver series. The first series where we let that go, and that's on us,” Hartenstein said. “We went in there, slowing the pace down a little bit too much, I think it was the last eight or six minutes, we slowed down the pace. I think that was the biggest key.
Let's not slow it down. Let's put the foot on the gas, and the Pacers have been doing an amazing job throughout the playoffs. So, it wasn't something that we didn't know coming in, that they'd come back from other teams' big leads. But we've always responded really good, and we got a group of guys that respond. We're going to be ready for the next game.”
In a 149-106 blowout win, the Thunder responded with their most lopsided victory of the postseason in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
Jalen Williams reveals biggest issue in Thunder's Game 1 meltdown
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The Thunder learned a valuable lesson in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Taking care of leads is vital, especially in the final stretch when the Thunder's offense dried up, while the defense allowed a 12-3 Pacers run. After the loss, Jalen Williams addressed what went wrong in the final frame.
“We had a couple of defensive breakdowns that cost us. A couple of offensive rebounds that cost us, just little stuff down the stretch,” Williams said. “I thought we had a really good offensive process. We got some good shots towards the end. But, when shots aren’t falling, you can’t have defensive breakdowns like we did.”
Jalen Williams when I asked him about the similarities between losing Game 1 vs Nuggets to losing Game 1 tonight:
“We had a couple of defensive breakdowns that cost us. A couple of offensive rebounds… when shots aren’t falling you can’t have defensive breakdowns like we did” pic.twitter.com/LTlHRHuCvy
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) June 6, 2025
Thunder will look to even the series 1-1 in Game 2 on Sunday.
