Tyrese Haliburton's jumper with 0.3 seconds left gave the Pacers a 111-110 victory over the Thunder in Game 1 on Thursday night. It was Indiana's only lead of the game and capped a 15-point fourth-quarter comeback.
The series will shift to Indiana for Games 3 and 4 later this week.
Saturday's NBA Finals news
— There's Canadian intrigue in these finals
Previous stories of note
— Tyrese Haliburton is Mr. Clutch
— In OKC, everybody must visit the memorial
— Commissioner Adam Silver talks parity, expansion, more
— Things to know about these NBA Finals
— The long, winding road for Rick Carlisle
— Could it be U.S. vs. the World in the All-Star Game?
— Thunder are big favorites, but ...
— Players play for the trophy. Referees ref for the jacket
— Ashley Kerr wins a lot of titles. She's Mark Daigneault's wife
— The ratings might not be good. The NBA has 76 billion reasons not to worry
— In Seattle, the message is clear: 'Go Pacers'
— Two teams, two paths, one destination
Betting odds
Oklahoma City (-350) remains a big favorite to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, but was at -700 before the Game 1 loss. Indiana's odds are now +275; they had been +500.
The Thunder are 10.5-point favorites over Indiana for Game 2. That's down a point from early Friday.
The Pacers have covered in 12 of their first 17 games of these playoffs. The Thunder — favored in every game so far — have covered seven out of 17 times to this point.
NBA Finals schedule
All games of the NBA Finals will be aired on ABC.
Thursday — Game 1, Indiana 111, Oklahoma City 110
Sunday — Game 2, Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. EDT
June 11 — Game 3, Oklahoma City at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 13 — Game 4, Oklahoma City at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 16 — Game 5, Indiana at Oklahoma City, if necessary, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 19 — Game 6, Oklahoma City at Indiana, if necessary, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 22 — Game 7, Indiana at Oklahoma City, if necessary, 8 p.m. EDT
(And good news: No NBA Finals games conflict with Stanley Cup Final dates!)
Key upcoming events
June 25 — NBA draft, first round.
June 26 — NBA draft, second round.
SGA is the MVP
A recap of Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s winning of the NBA MVP award.
The story: Gilgeous-Alexander tops Jokic for MVP award
The reaction: SGA tears up when talking about his wife
Steve Nash speaks: Canada's 1st MVP thrilled to see SGA follow him
The notebook: Jokic finishes top-2 again, Giannis' streak ends, LeBron gets votes
Stats of the day
— Indiana is 10-2 in games decided by three points or less this season. Game 1 — a Pacers win — was decided by one point.
— The Thunder, if the Game 2 line closes at 10.5 points or higher, would be the biggest favorite in a finals game since the Los Angeles Lakers were a 10.5-point favorite over the Miami Heat on Oct. 3, 2020.
Quote of the day
“It’s about the collective will we have as a team." — Pacers center Myles Turner, on Indiana winning Game 1 without any player scoring 20 or more points.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP