The Indiana Pacers announced themselves as a legitimate contender when they made a run to the Eastern Conference finals this past season, the franchise's first trip to the conference finals since the 2013-14 campaign. Only, NBA fans and pundits didn't see it that way. There was a sense that the Pacers, who were swept by the eventual champion Boston Celtics, had enjoyed a fluky run to the doorstep of the NBA Finals.

Nothing could be further from the truth, as the Pacers advanced out of the Eastern Conference finals this season and on Thursday stole Game 1 of the NBA Finals on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder thanks to some late-game heroics from Tyrese Haliburton .

And, as Haliburton so brilliantly described in his postgame comments, the Pacers heard what the doubters said and

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