The Indiana Pacers trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter and by nine points in the final three minutes. That’s no impediment for the Eastern Conference champions during these playoffs.
The Pacers never faltered against the relentless Oklahoma City Thunder, erasing a nine-point deficit in the final 2:52 of the game. Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard hit three-pointers, Pascal Siakam blocked a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander layup and hit a jumper of his own before Tyrese Haliburton delivered a game-winner with 0.3 seconds left to give the Pacers a stunning 111-110 victory.
To put in perspective how improbable this win was, Haliburton’s basket gave the Pacers their first lead of the game. The Thunder led by seven points after 2 1/2 minutes, led by 12 at halftime and by 15 with 9:42 to go.
But the Pacers have been very hard to put away this postseason. Haliburton has hit last-second game-winning shots in all four rounds of the playoffs after his Game 1 heroics.
The Pacers defied expectations in a lot of ways Thursday night. Obi Toppin came off the bench to score 17 points while sinking five three-pointers. Indiana isn’t known as a rebounding team, but it destroyed Oklahoma City on the boards, 56-39. The Pacers had as many turnovers as assists (24) and the Thunder turned the ball over only six times, yet Indiana won.
NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points on 14-for-30 shooting, but he didn’t get enough help from his star teammates. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren combined to shoot 8-for-28. In the final five minutes of the game, SGA was the only Thunder player to score.
The OKC crowd and the OKC Thunder both left the arena stunned after the Pacers stole another playoff game they probably should have lost. They’ve learned what so many teams already have this postseason: Don’t ever count the Pacers out.
