Pacers-Thunder Game 1 Review

Zak Drapeau
Jun 6
2 min read

Updated: Jun 9

by Zak Drapeau 6/6/2025 FansOnlySportz

The Pacers won last night in Oklahoma City by a score of 111-110. In the final seconds of the game, Pacers Guard Tyrese Haliburton would hit a game-winning 21-foot jumper to ice the game. As Haliburton flexed and celebrated with his teammates, the shock in Oklahoma City and around the world was so palpable we all simultaneously realized that Haliburton may really be that dude.

In a game where the Thunder would hold as large of a lead as 15 with 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter, the Pacers largest lead was 1 point which they achieved with only .3 seconds left in the game at the hands of Haliburton's gamer.

That's right, this game was handled easily by the Thunder for almost it's entirety. Starting the game on a 7-0 run, the Thunder would dominate with defense throughout, causing 19 turnovers from the Pacers in just the 1st half, while only giving up 4 themselves.

Entering the 2nd half by a score of 57-45, the Thunder would carry on with good play causing another 4 turnovers in the 3rd and would eventually be up 94-79 with 9:42 left in the 4th quarter.

From this point the Pacers would finish the game by a score of 32-16. At the same time the starting 5 was subbed back onto the court and after numerous comebacks in the midst of these playoffs, the Pacers would once again DOMINATE the 4th quarter and even end the game on a 6-0 run in the final 1:22 seconds to seal their fate.

For Haliburton's sake, he is now 5/5 in the entire 2025 playoffs in game-tying or lead-taking shots in the final minute of the 4th quarter; a statistic that the rest of the NBA is 4/24 combined.

The Thunder headed into this matchup as a 9.5-point underdog and played like it for 51 minutes last night. The sheer will and never-say-die attitude that we've seen from the Pacers was the reason they got the win last night and will make the Thunder a better team moving forward in the series.

Game 2 will also be in Oklahoma City on Sunday June 8th at 8:00 EST. The Thunder are even bigger favorites (as of 12:00 noon on Friday) for their next encounter.