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**NEW YORK** — The basketball slaps against the concrete, producing a perfect bounce if you’ve managed to steer clear of the driveway’s crack.
Dribble left, dribble right, step back. Three … two … one … (buzzer sound).
Who hasn’t reenacted this moment, whether at home or on the playground, with a fictitious championship hinging on the success of that final shot?
Tyrese Haliburton, like countless other basketball enthusiasts around the globe, frequently played out these scenarios during his childhood in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Indiana Pacers standout reminisced about how he would simulate game situations in the hallway of his family home, dribbling a pretend basketball or even a sock, racing against imaginary clock constraints.
Haliburton’s dedication to honing his shot is now yielding results. He has already secured two game-winning shots during the 2025 NBA playoffs and recently delivered a memorable game-tying shot at the end of regulation in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks.
However, the most significant clutch moments in Haliburton’s development didn’t occur at home. Instead, they unfolded in nearly every NBA arena he stepped into during his initial two seasons with Indiana, where the team struggled. The Pacers allowed him to take critical shots in the hopes that this real-game experience would eventually prove beneficial.
“Honestly, when I arrived here, we weren’t very competitive,” Haliburton reflected after a standout performance of 31 points and 11 assists led the Pacers to a 138-135 victory in Game 1 against the Knicks.
“We found ourselves in situations where I had to attempt several shots—I missed a few, and nobody really cared,” he continued. “Well, perhaps Pacers fans might have cared, but it didn’t hold much weight because we weren’t a playoff team back then. It felt like a baptism by fire; now we find ourselves in moments where the stakes are much higher, and that’s significant for me.”
The Pacers altered the trajectory of their franchise at the 2022 trade deadline when they traded All-Star center Domantas Sabonis and others to the Sacramento Kings, acquiring Haliburton as the centerpiece. Indiana has reached the Eastern Conference finals for the second year in a row, currently leading the Knicks 1-0, because they not only nurtured Haliburton but also assembled a supporting cast that complements his playing style. The results have been remarkable.
Following the Pacers’ astonishing comeback against the Knicks—where they overcame a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter, capped by Haliburton’s buzzer-beater (a near 3-pointer that actually landed just inside the arc)—the analytics platform Opta Analyst released a study indicating that Haliburton ranks among the top clutch performers in the NBA this century. According to the analysis, Haliburton boasts a .564 effective field goal percentage in 184 “clutch” situations (defined as the score being within six points in the last five minutes of play or overtime), placing him eighth overall in the past 25 years and first among All-Stars. He also leads All-Stars with nearly a four-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio in these clutch scenarios.
On the day Haliburton was traded to the Pacers, the team was languishing in 13th place in the Eastern Conference with a 19-37 record. In his first full season, Indiana finished 35-47, placing 11th. During that season (2022-23), Haliburton participated in 35 clutch games, achieving a 40 percent shooting rate from the field (31 percent from beyond the arc). He averaged nearly one assist for every 0.1 turnovers in those situations, leading the Pacers to victory in 20 of those games. Although he missed some key shots, he still made enough to impact the team’s success.
Haliburton’s performances throughout the Pacers’ playoff journey thus far draw parallels to LeBron James’ most clutch moments. For instance, he clinched Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks with an explosive drive and won Game 2 in the conference semifinals versus the Cleveland Cavaliers with a step-back three-pointer.
In the tense moments against the Knicks, Haliburton found himself with the ball and seven seconds left, trailing by two. Attempting to create space for a game-winning shot, he faded behind the three-point arc, but his toe inadvertently lingered at the line. Unaware of this detail at the moment, he celebrated prematurely when his shot arced high and then splashed through the net—inspired by the iconic Reggie Miller celebration from past Pacers-Knicks playoff clashes.
While much of Thursday’s chatter centered on the shot and the celebration, the underlying truth remains: Haliburton has consistently excelled in high-pressure situations throughout his five-year career.
“I think the most crucial factor for me is the confidence I have to take that shot when it matters,” Haliburton stated. “That assurance comes from my teammates, coaches, and the entire organization who encourage me to embrace those moments. I think the fans also play a significant role in instilling that confidence. We all feel the weight of those moments together, which boosts my self-assurance.”
“He’s our orchestrator,” praised Pacers forward Pascal Siakam. “When he has the ball, he positions us effectively, and during crucial instances, he wants it in his hands—so do we.”
Boasting incredible speed, Haliburton is a perennial leader in assists and, consequently, it makes sense for the Pacers to surround him with similarly quick athletes who can finish plays off his drives and hit threes—just as they have constructed their current roster.
On Wednesday, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle elaborated on the concept of tailoring the team around Haliburton, noting that achieving this balance has helped them develop a defensive style capable of pressuring opponents throughout the game, contributing heavily to their postseason comebacks.
“As we’ve assembled this group around Tyrese, we’ve made adjustments to create an effective playing style,” Carlisle explained. “It’s a challenging approach, both physically demanding and requiring exceptional commitment as athletes, not to mention a great deal of selflessness.”
Andrew Nembhard, the guard partnering with Haliburton, typically leads the Pacers’ full-court press. Meanwhile, Aaron Nesmith, a strong wing defender akin to Nembhard, made six straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, setting an NBA playoff record. When the Pacers acquired Siakam last season, he was seen as the ideal complement to Haliburton—an athletic forward capable of elevating the pace of the offense.
The Pacers leverage these assets, among others, to mount comebacks, and when it’s time to finish strong with a crucial shot, they have one of the league’s most formidable clutch players in Haliburton. This strategy of building around him is working splendidly in the very moments the Pacers are now thriving.
“We rely heavily on one another as a team,” Carlisle remarked. “Our style emphasizes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Yet, he also acknowledged that the Pacers have “exceptional individual talents,” with Haliburton undoubtedly at the forefront. After all, who else would he trust with the final shot?
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Joe Vardon serves as a senior NBA writer for The Athletic, based in Cleveland. Follow Joe on Twitter @joevardon.
