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The NBA Finals series opener was one for the books. Despite trailing by double digits for much of the game, the Indiana Pacers won on a last-second shot to claim a stunning 1-0 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The victory was similar to Indiana’s Eastern Conference upset over the New York Knicks, down to Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winning shot. Now, the Pacers have a 1-0 lead in a series some projected to be over in five or fewer games.
Oklahoma City missed a gift from the red-hot Pacers after the Thunder forced Indiana to turn over the ball 19 times in the first half. Can the Western Conference’s best team even the series on Sunday? We’ll cover that and provide our best Underdog DFS slip for Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
The postseason has been one for the record books for Haliburton. With Thursday’s final attempt, he became the only player in NBA history to have a game-tying or game-winning shot in each playoff round.
Before his 21-foot jumper, Haliburton had only 12 points and 10 assists on the game, marking the third straight game he’s finished below 26 combined points and assists.
With him playing on another level during the postseason, bettors should expect he’ll finally eclipse that mark on Sunday against the Thunder.
The Game 1 loss wasn’t on NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The point guard finished with a game-best 38 points, evenly splitting those tallies over each half. SGA nailed three of his six three-point attempts while making 14 of his 30 overall shots on Thursday.
Gilgeous-Alexander has faced the Pacers three times this year, and each game he’s finished with at least 33 points. There’s no reason to suspect he’ll fall short on Sunday, making this a strong player prop bet to earn cold, hard cash.
After sitting out most of the regular season, Chet Holmgren has been a beast in the playoffs. The 7-foot-1 power forward is averaging 15.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and nearly two blocks in 17 postseason games.
Thursday’s series opener was not his best showing, however. The second pick in the 2022 NBA Draft finished with just six points and six rebounds against Indiana in his first matchup against the Pacers this year. Expect Sunday’s game to be a better showing, but bettors should take the under on this rebounding player prop bet.