Haliburton Goes Down, Thunder Rise Up to Clinch First Title in Franchise History

Published: Monday, June 23, 2025

by Ryan Nelke

On a suspenseful summer Sunday night in Oklahoma City, the Thunder captured their first championship in franchise history, taking down the Indiana Pacers in Game 7, 103-91.  While the Thunder winning the Finals was the story of the night, many will say it came with an asterisk as Indiana’s star point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles midway through the 1st quarter.

Haliburton was playing injured for the majority of the series, dealing with a strained calf, but toughed it out, suiting up for every game.  However, with the game knotted at 16 with just over five minutes to go in the 1st quarter, Haliburton’s Achilles gave out, and he fell to the ground, slamming his fists on the court.

This was a massive blow for the Pacers, as while Haliburton was not putting up superstar numbers in the series, he had been one of the most clutch and timely players for Indiana, hitting countless high-pressure shots throughout their playoff run, including his buzzer-beater in Game 1 of the Finals.

If there was any team in the NBA to persevere through losing Haliburton in such a big time moment, it would be the Pacers and they showed that the rest of the first half, as they took a 48-47 lead into halftime.

Coming out of the break, TJ McConnell did his best to keep his squad in the game, scoring 12 consecutive points over the last seven minutes of the 3rd quarter for the Pacers, but the Thunder had finally found their groove, outscoring the Pacers 34-20 in the frame.

The reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, although not having one of his best shooting performances (8-27 FG, 2-12 3-PT), put together a solid outing, producing 29 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 12 assists.  Jalen Williams chipped in 20 points while Chet Holmgren delivered his best showing of the Finals, dropping 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

The Thunder lead ballooned to 22 points at the 7:41 mark of the 4th quarter, as the Pacers were held off the scoreboard for the first four and half minutes of the quarter.  By the time Pascal Siakam broke the streak, it was just too late for the Pacers to sustain a comeback, and seven and a half minutes later, the game went final, with Oklahoma City winning 103-91.

Once the celebration was on, the Thunder lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time ever, and Gilgeous-Alexander’s phenomenal 2025 campaign was capped off by winning Finals MVP.

With that achievement, SGA became the fourth player ever to sweep the NBA's regular season MVP, scoring title and Finals MVP awards in the same year.  This puts him in an elite club where he joins three of the all-time greats, being Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal.

On the opposing side, morale was the exact opposite as it was for the Thunder, as not only did the Pacers miss out on bringing home their first title, but will also be without their franchise player for the foreseeable future.

The fallout of Game 7 now leaves these two franchises on two very different paths, with Indiana trying to pick up the pieces from a devastating loss and searching for answers on how to navigate the upcoming season likely without Haliburton, while the Thunder have the building blocks in place for the beginning of a dynasty.

Ryan Nelke can be reached at nelkerya@shu.edu.

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