Pacers recognize the reality: To win the finals, we must end the slow start against the Thunder

In the first match of the 2025 NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers showed amazing reversal ability, and the winning goal was etched in the team's history. However, despite the Pacers’ back-up victory several times during the season, the second game gave them a harsh lesson: facing Oklahoma City’s top defense, if they continue to fall behind early in the game, they will likely lose the entire series. In the first two matches, the Thunder led for 91 minutes and 22 seconds, while the Pacers led only 1 minute and 53 seconds. This imbalance obviously cannot achieve victory.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle admitted after losing on Sunday night: "It was another bad first half, which was obviously a big problem, and our performance was quite disappointing." He further pointed out that although the second half improved, passive reaction alone could not expect success or stability. The message conveyed by the Pacers is very clear: this 68-win Thunder team is extremely powerful, and a situation that is too late to fall behind double digits can never happen again. Especially when it is about to return to the third home court at Gainbridge Arena, it is imperative to fight with enthusiastic fans.

Halliburton, as an all-NBA point guard, took responsibility and expressed the need to lead the change. "I think I did a very bad job in the first half," he said. "I had to find a better way to get into the shape at the beginning of the game." In the second game, the Thunder moderately adjusted their defensive intensity, focused more on defensive positions, suppressed Halliburton by cutting through the breakthrough route, resulting in him appearing too conservative on the offensive end and began to focus more on creating opportunities for his teammates rather than scoring by himself.

"We have to hit the paint better," Halliburton emphasized after the game. "Although it's easier said than done, in the first half, we just poured the ball out of the perimeter and didn't even score in the paint in the first quarter." When Indiana's offense runs smoothly, the team showed a balanced scoring pattern, and scores are often spread between five and six players in each game - a kind of ecosystem-style offensive style Carlisle described.

"The Thunder are more like a concept-driven team, so they need to compete with the corresponding defense," said Thunder coach Mark Degenault. "If you do this, there will be a chain reaction." In this regard, Halliburton must show more aggressiveness, actively seek shooting opportunities, and inject vitality into the team. In the fourth quarter of the second game, he performed well, scoring 12 points on 5 of 6 shots, but it was too late.

"We played well in the fourth quarter," Halliburton concluded. "I moved more without the ball, rather than frequent high pick-and-rolls; although I did well in the pick-and-roll, that gave the opponent the opportunity to shrink the defense and caused some mistakes for me." This situation must be changed in the next third home game. The Pacers knew very well that in the face of this powerful Thunder, they could no longer continue to dig holes, and hoped to fill it with their later efforts.