The Indiana Pacers picked up a stunning 111-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, and it was Tyrese Haliburton who once again hit a clutch shot with the game on the line to lead his team to victory. After the final buzzer sounded, one of his teammates, T.J. McConnell, dropped an eye-opening admission on Haliburton’s latest clutch heroics for Indiana.
Haliburton has put together one of the greatest displays of high-level clutch play in the history of sports, not just basketball, during the 2025 NBA Playoffs. He continues to will the Pacers into games they don’t appear to have a shot at winning, and when the game is on the line, he has delivered time and again. It’s rare to see someone deliver this consistently in tight situations, and it’s gotten to the point where McConnell said he’s “comfortable” anytime Haliburton has the ball in his hands late in the game,
“I hope it goes in,” McConnell bluntly said per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints when he saw Haliburton hoist his game-winning shot. “He’s continued to make clutch play after clutch play like that. We just feel very comfortable when the ball is in his hands.”
“I hope it goes in! And he’s continued to make clutch play after clutch play like that. You just feel very comfortable when the ball is in his hands.”
TJ McConnell on Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winning shot in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
(via @TomerAzarly) pic.twitter.com/p31DgS1gDd
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 6, 2025
Pacers looking to continue to defy the odds in 2025 NBA Finals vs. Thunder
The Pacers have been viewed as the underdog in each of their four playoff series, and they just keep on winning. That’s due in large part to Haliburton delivering gut punch after gut punch in these late-game scenarios, and just when you think he won’t do it again, he delivers an even more mind-boggling clutch shot for Indiana. Now, they are only three games away from raising the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Of course, it’s worth noting that all wins are created equal in the postseason, meaning the Pacers still have a lot of work to do if they intend on putting down a Thunder team that posted the best record in the league during the regular season. If Indiana can pick up another win in enemy territory when they return to action for Game 2 on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET, though, they could very well be on their way to earning their first NBA championship in franchise history.
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