Berry Tramel
Tulsa World Sports Columnist
OKLAHOMA CITY — Hold off on the dynasty. Hold off on the sweep. Hold off on the parade.
The crunch-time Thunder is back. That is not a good thing.
In a stunning repeat of Denver Game 1, the Thunder squandered a mostly-dominating performance in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Paycom Center on Thursday night. Tyrese Haliburton hit a 20-foot jumpshot with 0.3 seconds left to give the Indiana Pacers a 111-110 upset of the heavily-favored Thunder.
OKC led by 15 with 9½ minutes left in the game and by nine with 2:45 left in the game. But the Thunder scored just two points in the final 2:52, and Indiana scored on five of its final six possessions to match the largest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA Finals history.
The Thunder somehow lost despite 25 Indi