The Pacers showed a rare weakness. They won by relying on their biggest strength.

The Pacers authored a third consecutive stunning series-opening victory on the road by remaining cool in the clutch.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The NBA Finals appeared over less than two quarters after it started Thursday night when the Thunder, it appeared, had solved a previously uncrackable code.

For six previous weeks and three rounds of the NBA playoffs, their opponent, the Indiana Pacers, had played fast while rarely turning the ball over, a potent combination that fueled the franchise’s first Finals appearance in a quarter-century. Yet, as Oklahoma City harassed Indiana into 19 first-half turnovers in Game 1, the most in any half of this postseason, it became the first opponent to make the Pacers beat themselves.

These Finals are anything but over, however, because that breakthrough proved temporary.

Despite the disruption of Oklahoma City’s defense, and the 15-point lead it built with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Thunder found themselves in the final minutes just like Milwaukee, Cleveland and New York before them — unable, ultimately, to figure out how to put away a Pacers team that simply will not quit.

Indiana led, in total, for three-tenths of a second in Game 1, but that was enough for a 111-110 victory that saw what would have been an inexplicable comeback for any other team became an inevitable Pacers hallmark. It was the third consecutive series in which they authored a stunning series-opening victory on the road by remaining cool in the clutch.