Historic Tyrese Haliburton, Kobe Bryant News Revealed After Pacers' Win Over Knicks

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Garret Schnitker | Last updated May 22, 2025 7:41 PM ET

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers stole home-court advantage in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals by defeating the New York Knicks 138-135 in Madison Square Garden. Haliburton hit a buzzer-beating shot to send the game to overtime and cap off a 14-point comeback with 2:40 to go in the fourth quarter. In the last 27 years, NBA teams were 0-970 in the same situation in the playoffs, until the Pacers became the first team to come back and win ( via Keerthika Uthayakumar).

After being voted as the most overrated player in the NBA by his peers (via The Athletic), Haliburton has put on an incredible playoff run to lead his team to his second straight Eastern Conference finals run. The former No. 12 pick in the draft out of Iowa State supplied 31 points and 11 assists, along with the biggest shot of the game.

Haliburton’s game-tying shot included him in company including NBA legends for made buckets at the end of playoff games.

Since the 1997 playoffs, Haliburton tied 18-time All-Star Kobe Bryant and three-time All-Star Khris Middleton for the third-most game-tying or go-ahead shots in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime with four, including 3-for-3 in these playoffs alone. Haliburton trails only 21-time All-Star LeBron James with eight and Pacers legend Reggie Miller with five.

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While James, Bryant, and Miller are known to be some of the most clutch players of all time, the 25-year-old Haliburton has inserted himself into elite conversations with one incredible playoff run. Luckily for Haliburton and the Pacers, their run can be one of the greatest of all time if they continue to win. Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals continues in Madison Square Garden on Friday night at 8 PM EST.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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