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Haliburton, who had 14 factors and 10 rebounds, gave the Pacers their solely lead of the sport on a dramatic 21-foot soar shot with 0.3 of a second remaining to ship a shocker after Indiana had trailed by 15 factors with 9:42 remaining.
“We got the stop and coach trusts us in those moments to not call a timeout, trusts me in those moments, guys trust me and just trying to make a play,” Haliburton stated of the final shot.
“Basketball is fun, man, winning is fun,” he added in an on-court interview. “That’s a great win for us.”
With a game-closing 14-2 run, the Pacers seized a 1-0 lead within the best-of-seven collection with sport two on Sunday at Oklahoma City.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 factors whereas reserve Obi Toppin added 17, Myles Turner had 15 and Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard every added 14.
“It was a total team effort, we had so many guys chip in. Obi was huge off the bench, Myles in the fourth, Andrew Nembhard in the fourth so many guys stepped up and just really proud of this group,” Haliburton stated.
The end evoked reminiscences of the primary sport within the Eastern Conference finals, when a Haliburton shot on the buzzer bounced excessive and went in to pressure over-time because the Pacers surprised New York on the way in which to a collection victory.
The Pacers search the primary NBA crown of their 58-year historical past whereas the Thunder, who took a title in 1979 as Seattle, haven’t gained a crown since transferring to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Indiana overcame 24 turnovers and a 38-point efficiency by Oklahoma City’s NBA Most Valuable Player and high season scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
A 12-2 run pulled Indiana inside 98-94 with 6:16 remaining within the fourth quarter, with Turner and Toppin every making two three-pointers within the spurt.
The Thunder, with the NBA’s greatest regular-season document, clung to the lead as Gilgeous-Alexander made a driving layup and added two free throws for a 106-98 edge with 3:24 remaining.
Aaron Nesmith and Nembhard sank back-to-back three-pointers to elevate Indiana inside 108-105 with 1:59 remaining and after a layup by Gilgeous-Alexander, Nembhard made two free throws and Siakam scored off a rebound to elevate the Pacers inside 110-109.
Nesmith rebounded a Gilgeous-Alexander miss to arrange Haliburton’s game-winning shot.
“We just had to figure out how to win in so many different ways all year,” Haliburton stated. “There’s so many weird different ways… we’re a resilient group… We keep believing and we stay together.”
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 factors within the first quarter and the Thunder compelled 9 turnovers on the way in which to a 29-20 lead.
Oklahoma City surged to a 57-45 half-time lead with 19 factors from “SGA” whereas the Thunder, playoff leaders at forcing turnovers, acquired 18 from Indiana within the first half.
The Pacers pulled inside 85-76 getting into the fourth quarter however a Jalen Williams slam dunk produced the Thunder’s largest lead at 94-79 with 9:42 remaining, establishing the extreme end.
Oklahoma City misplaced its solely prior NBA Finals look in 2012 to Miami whereas the Pacers dropped their solely prior NBA Finals journey in 2000 to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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