The Thunder aren’t hitting the panic button after dropping Game 1 of the NBA Finals to the Pacers at home Thursday night in stunning fashion.
Leading by 15 points in the fourth, Oklahoma City let the game slip away as Indiana rallied to a 111-110 victory after Pacers star and Knicks villain Tyrese Haliburton hit a 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining to take a 1-0 series lead — something league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said won’t deter the Thunder’s quest for the franchise’s first NBA title since the Sonics won in 1979.
“How you lose doesn’t really matter,” OKC’s star guard said, according to ESPN. “Obviously it sucks — last-second shot, the energy in the arena and stuff like that. But we lost at the end of the day. We lost Game 1.
“We’ve lost Game 1 before. On the other side of that, we came out a better team. That’s our goal.”
The Thunder choked away Game 1 of their second-round playoff series to the Nuggets last month after Denver stormed back from a 13-point hole to win, 121-119.
The Nuggets closed out the series opener with a 3-point shot from Aaron Gordon with 2.8 seconds remaining at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
However, Denver’s victory lap was short-lived when the West’s top seed blew out the Nuggets the following game, 149-106. Oklahoma City took the series in seven.
Coach Mark Daigneault, who led the Thunder to a 68-14 record in the regular season, stressed Thursday, “The most important game in the series is always the next one.”
“The playoffs take you to the limit,” 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 a 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 Pacers’ playoff run has been defined by comeback victories, most recently in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Knicks, when Haliburton forced overtime en route to a 138-135 win.
Indiana topped the Knicks in six games.
Game 2 of the NBA Finals tips off Sunday at 8 p.m.
The series shifts to Indiana for Games 3 and 4 starting Wednesday, June 11.