The Oklahoma City Thunder were defeated by the Indiana Pacers 111-110 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.
The Thunder blew a 15-point lead before Tyrese Haliburton hit a game winner with 0.3 seconds left.
“We’ve lost Game 1 before,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after the game. “On the other side of that, we came out a better team. That’s our goal.”
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 38 points, the third-most for a NBA Finals debut.
The Thunder previously lost Game 1 at home in their series against the Nuggets earlier in the playoffs.
“The playoffs take you to the limit,” Mark Daigneault said. “They put your back against the wall — in games, in series. If you make it this far, you have to endure to do that. It gives you rich experiences that you can draw on. The biggest experience we’ve had is understanding that every game’s new game. The most important game in the series is always the next one, regardless of the outcome. We would’ve liked to win tonight, but tonight was a starting point, not an end point.”
The Thunder forced 20 turnovers in the first half, though they only converted them to nine points. The Pacers had just five turnovers in the second half.
The Thunder are 4-0 following losses during the playoffs and have won the next game by an average of 20.5 points.
