How Did Tyrese Haliburton Earn Pacers' Clutch Victory?

Perhaps Haliburton's embrace with Miller ahead of the game gave the young star the proper juice to outduel the Bucks. 

Although Haliburton finished with a pedestrian 14 points, on 2 for 6 shooting from deep, ultimately his 3-point shot over Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo, which resulted in a four-point play, saved the day. 

Pacers head coach  Rick Carlisle called "four verticals" to win the game, which was designed by the team's assistant coach, Jenny Boucek.

The play calls for the four players to line up as if they were at the line of scrimmage in a football game and then jet across the court. This play confuses the opposing defenders and likely will get a man open, as it did for Haliburton. 

Haliburton hit the game-winning shot, but All-Star Pascal Siakam led the Pacers throughout the close-knit contest. 

Siakam finished with 25 points on efficient shooting splits. The Pacers star recorded a 10 for 15 shooting mark from the field and a 3 for 7 clip from 3. Without Siakam's steady hand, they likely would have lost to the Bucks.

Instead, the Pacers converted the touchdown equivalent of a game-winning shot. 

Meanwhile, the Bucks lost despite a commendable performance from Brook Lopez. He led the Bucks with 23 points on an outstanding 9 for 11 mark from the field and a 2 for 3 clip from deep.

The Pacers tied the Bucks 36-28 in the Eastern Conference standings. However, Indiana has much work on its plate, as Milwaukee holds the tiebreaker over the Haliburton-led team. 

The Pacers play the flailing Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, and they have another chance to regain the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.