Nearly every analyst coming into this year’s NBA finals had the Oklahoma City Thunder beating the Indiana Pacers comfortably. The first three quarters of Game 1 did very little to contradict those predictions until the final minutes, when all hell broke loose.

The reigning NBA MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, looked like, well, the NBA MVP for much of the game as he led the scoring with 38 points. His Thunder team went out to an early 7-0 lead and were 57-45 up by half-time. The second half seemed to be going the same way with the Thunder 15 points up at one point in the fourth quarter.

And then the Pacers, as they so often have in these playoffs, started to fight back. With a minute remaining they had made it a one-point game at 110-109. With a second to go it was still 110-109 and Tyrese Haliburton had a chance to steal the game for the Pacers in outrageous fashion. Just as he had against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, he did not miss when it mattered. His basket put the Pacers up 111-110 and won them the game. Remarkably, the Pacers led for just 0.3 seconds – the blink between Haliburton’s shot and the buzzer.

Haliburton’s shot was the latest game-winner in an NBA finals contest since Michael Jordan’s buzzer-beater to sink the Utah Jazz in 1997, also in Game 1.

“We’ve just had to figure out how to win in so many ways all year,” said Haliburton. “We’re just a really resilient group, I’m just really proud of this group. We keep believing and we stay together. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

Once again, Indiana had found a way back in these playoffs. On 29 April, they trailed Milwaukee 118-111 with 34.6 seconds left in overtime and won 119-118. On 6 May, the Pacers trailed Cleveland 119-112 with 48 seconds left and won 120-119. On 21 May, they trailed New York 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left in regulation and won 138-135 in overtime. Thursday’s comeback was the Pacers’ fifth from 15 or more points down this postseason, an NBA record.

“That’s a really good team,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “Credit them for not only tonight but their run. They’ve had so many games like that that have seemed improbable. And they just play with a great spirit and they keep coming. They keep playing.”

The Pacers had staged the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in a finals game since Dallas came from 15 down to beat Miami in 2011. The coach of those Mavericks: Rick Carlisle. The coach of these Pacers: Rick Carlisle. His decisions on Thursday certainly helped. When the Pacers were 15 points down early in the fourth, Carlisle called time and subbed out all five players, seeking a spark. It worked. The Pacers outscored the Thunder 15-4 over the next 3:26 to make it 98-94 with a little over six minutes remaining. It was a foundation that would help them stage their remarkable comeback.

Haliburton’s last-gasp heroics spoiled a brilliant outing by Gilgeous-Alexander, whose 38 points were the third-most in an NBA finals debut behind only Allen Iverson (48 in 2001) and George Mikan (42 in 1949).

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is on Sunday night in Oklahoma City. Both teams may just about have recovered by then.

“Man, basketball’s fun,” Haliburton said, reflecting on the end of the game.

It was hard to disagree.

A head-on crash left two people with serious injuries Thursday morning in Oklahoma City.

Thursday, June 5th 2025, 6:28 am

By:

Christian Hans

OKLAHOMA CITY –

Two people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries after a crash Thursday morning in southwest Oklahoma City, according to authorities.

The Oklahoma City Fire Department says the head-on crash happened along South Western Avenue near Southwest 84th Street.

Both drivers were hospitalized, one of whom had to be extricated from their vehicle.

South Western Avenue has been closed in the area while crews clear the scene.

The NBA Finals just raised the stakes between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. The governors of the two states have officially put a wager on the table for who will win this year’s chip.

The two Republican governors are drumming up excitement for the NBA Finals just before the two open at the Paycom Center on Thursday with a little wager.

If the Pacers lose, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said he would send Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt a “big package of pork products” from Indianapolis-based company Smoking Goose Meatery.

But if the Thunder lose, Stitt will send the Hoosier governor “some of the best steaks in the world” from Oklahoma.

As of Wednesday morning, the Thunder are the odds-on favorite to win it all, with ESPN BET reporting a -700 in the Thunder’s favor. This is compared to a +500 in the Pacers favor.

But that fact doesn’t deter Braun.

“I want to make a little wager: I’m predicting we’re going to win as the underdogs,” Braun posted Wednesday morning on X.

Shortly after, Stitt reshared Braun’s post accepting the challenge. Though Stitt did not say where the best steaks in Oklahoma come from, he seemed confident in what the Thunder can accomplish.

“The Oklahoma City Thunder is going to bring home the Championship, no doubt about it,” Stitt said in his reply on X.