Tyrese Haliburton Trolls Knicks After Game-Winning Shot

Haliburton's heave, which bounced off the top of the rim before sailing through, completed the Pacers' comeback from a deficit that reached as high as 17 and still stood at 14 with under three minutes remaining. The Pacers' franchise face appeared to have a path to an interior equalizer but opted to take a shot from the top of the key, ostensibly a three-pointer that would've given Indiana the win outright.

Under the impression that his deep double had an extra point attached to it, Haliburton channeled his inner Reggie Miller by placing his hands to his neck in a choking gesture as his teammates surrounded him. The image of Miller engaged in the same pose is one of the most iconic images of the Knicks-Pacers postseason rivalry, which tipped off its ninth edition on Wednesday.

In the aftermath, Haliburton claimed that his tribute to Miller (who called the game for TNT Sports) was not planned but that he succumbed to peer pressure after many called for him to break it out during last spring's postseason get-together, a 4-3 Pacers victory in the conference semifinal round. Though Haliburton didn't break it out on the floor, he wore a hoodie depicting Miller engaged in the stunt after the Pacers defeated a severely-depleted Knicks group in the deciding seventh game of the set.

Since the shot was an equalizer, not a winner, Haliburton partly lamented that he may have "wasted" his opportunity for a perfect homage.

"I wasn't like plotting on it or anything," Haliburton said, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. "Everybody wanted me to do it last year at some point, but it's got to feel right. It felt right at the time ... if I would've known it was a two, I would not have done it."

Haliburton's teammates made sure his face stayed free of metropolitan egg: Andrew Nembhard scored seven points in the extra session while Obi Toppin put down an emphatic dunk to create the final margin and give the Pacers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven set. Haliburton finished the game with a team-best 31 points, which barely beat out the 30 from fellow fourth quarter hero Aaron Nesmith, who tied an NBA postseason record with six three-pointers in the final period amidst the comeback.

Pacers coach and brief Knicks shooter Rick Carlisle didn't seem willing to dedicate time to the supposed controversy but didn't seem to have much of an issue with Haliburton's Miller impression beyond the potential aftershocks it could create among the infamously passionate New York fanbase.

“Tyrese has earned the right to do whatever he wants,” Carlisle said, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. “But this fan base is difficult enough to deal with without getting into a lot of unnecessary words. We have great respect for these guys.” 

While Knicks fans are no doubt already irked by Haliburton's antics, there might be a bit of a curse associated with the gesture: Miller originally broke it out during the teams' meeting in the 1994 conference final—one the Knicks ultimately took in a classic seven-game set.