There was never a doubt in Tyrese Haliburton’s mind.
The Indiana Pacers star has done it too often – especially in the 2025 playoffs – to not have confidence in the closing seconds.
Haliburton hit a 20-foot pull-up jumper in the final second on Thursday as the Pacers completed a stunning comeback for a 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
It was the 25-year-old’s fourth big-time shot in the closing seconds during this year’s playoffs.
The Pacers hadn’t led in Thursday’s finals opener until Halliburton drained his latest clutch hoop with 0.3 seconds remaining.
“Ultimate confidence in himself,” Indiana’s Myles Turner said of Haliburton. “Some players will say they have it, but there are other players that show it … He wants to be the one to hit that shot. He doesn’t shy away from that moment.”
In Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs, Haliburton cut through the lane to hit a driving layup with 1.3 seconds left in overtime, giving the Pacers a win and ending the series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
In Game 2 of the second round, he hit a step-back 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to put Indiana up one and put the Cleveland Cavaliers into a 2-0 hole.
Then in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Haliburton hit another step-back shot that appeared to be the game-winner initially but was changed to a two that forced overtime against the New York Knicks. Indiana eventually won.
The Thursday shot merely continued the pattern.
Indiana trailed by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter, and though the Pacers cut the deficit to one in the closing seconds, the Thunder had the ball in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands with a chance to put the Pacers away.
However, Andrew Nembhard guarded the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) tenaciously, helping to force a missed fadeaway from Gilgeous-Alexander that opened the door for Haliburton’s heroics.
With 11 seconds left, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle trusted his team and didn’t take a timeout.
Haliburton worked his way down the court against Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace, driving just inside the 3-point arc before pulling up for a shot that briefly rattled around the rim before dropping through.
“I had a pretty good idea,” Haliburton said when asked whether he knew the shot was good.
Indiana won despite turning the ball over 25 times in Game 1.
“It’s not the recipe to win,” Haliburton said. “We can’t turn the ball over that much … (but) come May and June, it doesn’t matter how you get ’em, just get ’em.”
The best-of-seven series resumes with Game 2 on Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Thunder to try level series in Game 2
“The series isn’t first to one, it’s first to four,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So we have four more games to get. They have three, and that’s just where we are.”
Game 1 was a gut punch for the Thunder, who led from the start and got 38 points from Gilgeous-Alexander.
Oklahoma City managed just 11 points off the Pacers’ giveaways, including just nine off Indiana’s 20 first-half turnovers.
The Pacers trailed by 15 early in the fourth quarter before chipping away at the deficit. Nembhard and Myles Turner each scored eight points in the period.
Indiana cut the deficit to one with 48.6 seconds remaining on Pascal Siakam’s putback following a missed 3-point attempt by Nembhard.
Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points and added 10 rebounds. Obi Toppin had 17 points off the bench, Turner scored 15 and Nembhard had 14. Haliburton finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
For Oklahoma City, Jalen Williams contributed 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting while Chet Holmgren was just 2 of 9 for six points.
The Thunder led 94-79 with 9:42 remaining, but Indiana wasn’t about to go away.
The Pacers ripped off a 15-4 run to stay within striking distance, and then they surged ahead late.
Oklahoma City hit just one field goal in the final four minutes, giving the Pacers the opening to come back.
“We played like we were trying to keep the lead instead of trying to extend it or be aggressive,” Williams said.
