Indiana Pacers: A Team Effort in the Unlikely Comeback to Steal Game 5 of the NBA Finals

In a thrilling and dramatic finish to the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers pulled off another incredible comeback to steal a 111-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, securing home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series. The game was a back-and-forth battle, with the Thunder holding a 94-79 lead with 9:42 remaining in the fourth quarter before the Pacers mounted their comeback. The Pacers' comeback was led by Tyrese Haliburton, who was at the heart of each of their previous improbable comebacks in the playoffs. Against the Milwaukee Bucks, he erased a seven-point deficit in the final 35 seconds of Game 5. In the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he did the same in the final minute of Game 2. And in the conference finals against the New York Knicks, he sent Game 1 into overtime with a wild, bouncing buzzer-beater. On Thursday, Haliburton was again responsible for the theft, drilling a pull-up jump shot with 0.3 seconds remaining to give the Pacers their first lead of the night. The Thunder had no answer, and the Pacers were able to hold on for the victory. The Pacers' comeback was not just a result of Haliburton's heroics, but a team effort. Following Jalen Williams' slam dunk that gave the Thunder a 15-point lead with under 10 minutes to play, Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle turned to his team and said, "Let's just keep chipping away at the rock." The Pacers registered three-point plays on three of their next four possessions, cutting the Thunder's lead to 96-88 for the first time since the opening seconds of the quarter. The Thunder fought back with a backdoor layup for Cason Wallace, but Toppin and Turner each drilled another 3 to slice the lead down to 98-94, and we had ourselves a ballgame with six minutes still to play. That is when we started to believe in a Pacers comeback. Over the next three minutes, Oklahoma City slowly built its lead back to 108-99 with 2:52 left, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made his sixth and seventh free throws for his 35th and 36th points of the night. But Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard drilled two more 3s on Indiana's next two possessions to make it a 108-105 game with 1:59 left. Gilgeous-Alexander answered with a layup on the other end, but Nembhard drew a foul from Alex Caruso and drained both free throws: 110-107. Pascal Siakam then blocked Gilgeous-Alexander at the rim and snuck inside of him to grab the offensive rebound and put it back: 110-109.