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Rick Carlisle backs Tyrese Haliburton’s choke gesture

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated May 22, 2025 12:17 PM ET

There are some people who may have been bothered by the choking gesture that Tyrese Haliburton did during the Indiana Pacers’ historic comeback win on Wednesday night, but his head coach was not one of them.

Haliburton hit a step-back shot at the final buzzer in regulation to force overtime in Indiana’s 138-153 win over the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers initially thought Haliburton hit a game-winning three-pointer, but reviews showed that his foot was on the line.

Haliburton celebrated his latest clutch shot by doing the famous Reggie Miller choke gesture. Miller was in the building calling the game for TNT, too. You can see the video here.

After the game, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was asked if he would have preferred that Haliburton not make the choke gesture. Carlisle had a great response.

“Tyrese has earned the right to do whatever he wants,” Carlisle said.

Rick Carlisle is asked whether he wished Haliburton hadn’t done the choking gesture: “Tyrese has earned the right to do whatever he wants.”
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 22, 2025

That was not the only huge shot Haliburton has hit in the postseason, which is why Carlisle is not about to tell his best player how he can and can’t celebrate.

The Pacers had no business even being in Game 1 late in the fourth quarter, let alone somehow pulling off the comeback. One brutal stat illustrates just how big of a collapse the result was for New York.

Haliburton led the Pacers with 31 points, but no shot was bigger than the one he made as time expired in the fourth quarter. He told reporters afterward that fans had been asking him to do the famous Miller choke, so he felt that was as good a time as any. It seems like Carlisle may have agreed.

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

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