Tyrese Haliburton wasn't the first player to celebrate early in the playoffs

Haliburton copied Reggie Miller's famous "choke sign" celebration from a 1994 playoff win against the New York Knicks, after pointing at the TNT broadcaster. Unfortunately, the shot was only a two-pointer, so the Indiana Pacers had to regroup and play overtime, where they hung on for a 138-135 win that saved Haliburton a lot of embarrassment.

But he's not the first player, or even team to celebrate a win prematurely. It happened in the 2018 playoffs, when Marco
Belinelli of the Philadelphia 76ers hit a turnaround jumper to send Game 3 of their second-round series to overtime. The stadium staff mistakenly thought it was a three-pointer, so they dumped confetti from the ceiling in celebration.

When the referees confirmed Belinelli's shot was a two-pointer, the Sixers had to play OT, where Al Horford scored the final five points of the game in a 101-98 win. Belinelli made a deep two in the overtime period, but missed the two actual three-pointers he took, including the final shot of the game.

In 1969, the Los Angeles Lakers were hosting Game 7 of the NBA Finals, also against the Boston Celtics. Owner Jack Kent Cooke was so confident in the victory that he placed thousands of balloons in the rafters printed with "World Champion Lakers." Bill Russell, about to play in the final game of his career, noticed the balloons and a handout that listed the details of the Lakers' postgame celebration, which included a balloon drop and the USC marching band.

During pregame warmups, Russell told the Lakers' Jerry West, "Those damn balloons are gonna stay up there." The Lakers made a comeback but left Wilt Chamberlain on the bench and lost, 108-106. With 1:33 to go, Don Nelson grabbed a loose ball and beat the shot clock with a shot that bounced high off the back of the rim and in, just like Haliburton's Game 1 shot. Nellie's miracle shot gave the Celtics the cushion they needed, and those damn balloons did indeed stay in the rafters.

In the 2011 Finals, the Miami Heat were huge favorites over the Dallas Mavericks. They won Game 1, and midway through the fourth quarter, Dwyane Wade hit a jumper to give the Heat a 15-point lead. Dallas called timeout, and Wade celebrated in front of the Mavericks' bench.

The Heat's celebration infuriated Jason Terry and the Mavericks. He told the Dallas Morning News, "I looked at the scoreboard. There's still six minutes left in the ballgame. This game is not over. They're celebrating as if they had won the championship...We proceeded to go back out and kick their butt, I think that was the turning point in the series."

Terry would score the game's next six points as the Mavericks closed the game on a 22-5 run to win, 95-93. Wade wouldn't score again, and the Mavericks won the series in six games.

So Haliburton dodged a bullet, and learned a valuable lesson about reserving his biggest celebrations for an actual win.