The Indiana Pacers have achieved the seemingly impossible on numerous occasions during the NBA playoffs, and one graphic that surfaced after their latest win helps put the historic run into perspective.
The Pacers came from behind yet again to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Indiana trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter and 9 with under 3 minutes remaining in the game.
The win marked the fifth time this postseason that the Pacers have won a game after trailing by at least 15 points. What has been particularly incredible is their ability to flip the script late in the fourth quarter.
Just have a look at this graphic:
The Indiana Pacers won all of these games. pic.twitter.com/nFhsljageK
— Odds Shark (@OddsShark) June 6, 2025
The Pacers trailed by 7 points with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter in Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round and Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round. They won both of those games. They then beat the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals despite being down 9 points with 52.5 seconds left.
On Thursday night, Indiana trailed by 9 with 2:36 left and eventually won the game on another heroic shot from Tyrese Haliburton (video here).
Prior to the Pacers’ win in Game 1, teams since 1971 were 0-182 when trailing by 9 or more points with under 3 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals game.
For whatever reason, the Pacers simply do not get rattled when trailing by significant margins late in games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is hoping Indiana’s latest comeback will serve as a warning to the Thunder.
