June 5 (UPI) -- Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers know they are major underdogs in the 2025 NBA Finals, but relish the task of running through MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the "historically great" Oklahoma City Thunder.
Game 1 will tip off at 8:30 p.m. EDT Thursday in Oklahoma City. The best-of-seven-game series will air on ABC.
"They're a great team," point guard Haliburton told reporters. "They're historically great on both sides of the ball. They have the MVP. I mean, there's so many different things you could name down the list of why they are so great at what they do, why they're such a great team.
"If we were to win a championship, I don't want to win any other way. I don't want to go around or over. I want to go through."
Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's regular-season points leader, and the Thunder's excellent roster broke several records during the regular season, winning a franchise-best 68 games while setting new league marks for the most double-digit wins (54) and highest point differential. They also went a record 29-1 against Eastern Conference teams.
