“Wow” wrote Tyrese Maxey recently, reflecting on words that thousands and thousands would have been thinking after the conclusion of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. By the time the 1st half ended, it was clear that the odds were not in the Indiana Pacers’ favor. After all, Tyrese Haliburton and co had recorded a total of 19 turnovers in that brief period! The Pacers were down 57-45 at the half. By the time 2:36 minutes remained in the 4th, OKC was leading 108-99. Then, in another surprise, Tyrese Haliburton delivered another of his iconic clutch performances and secured the win for his team by 1 point! Despite the win, however, the lapses will not go away. Therefore, no one blamed the players for not being in the best mood.

After the close 111-110 win, ESPN highlighted Tyrese Haliburton heading to the locker room. He waited for Pascal Siakam to catch up to him. The two shared an embrace and then walked together, with a smile not appearing on either of their faces. Haliburton said, “Come on, man. Let’s get greedy, man. We got so much work to do”. Siakam agreed and added, “We didn’t even play well”. Woah!

Rallying from a 15-point fourth quarter deficit is not an easy task. Especially when you’re playing in the NBA Finals. Especially when you’re playing against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and co. However, the Pacers should never have been in a situation where they had to recover from such a deficit. The Thunder’s defense, from the start, seemed to be on point. The game opened with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and co forcing 9 Pacers turnovers, and allowing 8 made Indiana field goals. By the end of the game, Tyrese Haliburton and co had a whopping 25 turnovers, while their rivals only had 7. Furthermore, the Pacers also had 16 fewer field goal attempts than the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Haliburton was able to finish with 14 points. 6 different Pacers players scored in double figures, but none made higher than 17 points. Therefore, even with the marvellous turnover in the 4th quarter, it was obvious that the Pacers do not want to get caught in such a situation ever again.

While the faults have to be remembered, one also cannot ignore the heroics that helped to save the Pacers’ chances in Game 1. However, Haliburton wasn’t one to take the sole credit for the move.

Tyrese Haliburton credits Rick Carlisle for trusting him to save the Indiana Pacers: “He trusts me in those moments”

Tyrese Haliburton‘s late-game heroics have certainly already become playoff lore. Fans would still remember how the point guard forced overtime with a big shot against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of their series. Before that, Haliburton’s step-back 3-pointer in Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers put the latter in a 2-0 series hole. Even amidst that, however, nothing would be remembered more well than when Haliburton made a jumper, with 0.3 seconds remaining, to give the Indiana Pacers the 111-110 win.

In the aftermath of the game, ESPN was able to get Haliburton for an exclusive Q&A session. When responding to the first question itself, Haliburton credited his coach by saying, “We got the stop and coach [Carlisle] trusts us in those moments to not call timeouts. He trusts me in those moments, the guys trust me and I was just trying to make a play. So, man, basketball is fun. Winning is fun. That’s a great win for us.”

Once the Pacers controlled possession, time was limited. Rick Carlisle could have easily called for a timeout, re-grouped his players, and decided how to go about things. However, he decided to let the play go. This was in line with the strategy that Carlisle had in mind, not just for that final moment, but for the whole game.

“You’ve just got to keep pounding the rock and just chip away and hang in,” said Carlisle after the game. “We’ve got a lot of experience in these type of games and our guys have a real good feel for what it’s all about. Giving ourselves a chance. And we got fortunate, but made plays.”

The Indiana Pacers might not have collaborated well enough to get a lead in Game 1 until the final moment. However, the trust between a coach and his players allowed something to happen that felt improbable by the end of the first half. Tyrese Haliburton and co have looked at their weaknesses and will be looking to not repeat them in Game 2.