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As if embarrassing the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks with their fourth quarter heroics wasn’t enough, the Indiana Pacers have done it again against the most winningest team this season.
The NBA Finals started Thursday night, and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s sharpshooting and lockdown defense were on full display.
In his first-ever NBA Finals game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shows out with 38 points, as his team routinely held a 10-point lead, which at one point in the fourth quarter ballooned up to 15.
But a comeback was charted by Andrew Nembhard, Myles Turner, and Obi Toppin with clutch threes in the final minutes.
Then, with 22.1 seconds left on the clock, Aarom Nesmith got a Gilgeous-Alexander rebound thanks to some expertly executed defense by Nembhard. Nesmith immediately knew to hand the ball off to Haliburton with 6 seconds for a last-second shot.
“I swear as soon as he jumped up to shoot, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s good,’” Nesmith told ESPN after the game. “Every time it’s in his hands in those situations, I just think it’s good.”
Down 109-110, Hali pulled up and sank a long two-pointer to secure the one-point win with 3 seconds left. The 111-110 final score was the first time the Pacers led the entire game.
Haliburton saluted his team’s resilience and ability to always play hard until the clock expires.
“As a group, we never think the game is over, ever. Honestly speaking, ever,” Haliburton said. “I don’t know what you say about it, but I know that this group is a resilient group. And we don’t give up until it’s 0.0 on the clock.”
As for NBA MVP Gilgeous-Alexander, he’s just now realizing that a double-digit lead against the Eastern Conference winners doesn’t mean you rest on your laurels in the final minutes; it means you should lock in even more.
“We had control for most of the game, but it is a 48-minute game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They teach you that lesson more than anyone else in the league, the hard way.”
Even Jay-Z — a New York native who can’t root for the Pacers— bet $1 million on OKC winning in five games. According to Yahoo Sports! If the Thunder earn the franchise’s first-ever Larry O’ Brien trophy, the billionaire takes home a cool $3.3 million.
But with a game one loss, the Thunder would have to win the next four games for Hov to get that payout.
See how everyone is reacting to the shocking end to game one below.