Tyrese Haliburton hit a game winning floater with 1.6 seconds left in game three of their first-round series to give the Indiana Pacers a 2-1 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s a moment that will be remembered for a lifetime both by Pacers fans screaming in the arena and those jumping in their living rooms at home.
“I just knew I was shooting it no matter what,” Tyrese Haliburton told reporters after the game on his mindset before the final play. “I didn’t know what I was going to get to, it was just kind of based off of feel out there.”
“Khris (Middleton) pushed Pascal (Siakam) up to tell Patrick (Beverley) to go under on the screen so as soon as I saw Patrick turn his head I just rejected and then that opened everything up across the middle. I finally made a shot. I couldn’t buy a bucket today so I’m glad that one went in.”
Playoff game winners don’t happen every day and Haliburton was unfazed by the ridiculous shot-making in the clutch by Khris Middleton— who hit a deep 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime and banked in another 3-pointer to tie the game with 6.7 seconds left to cap a 42-point scoring effort—as the point guard told his team in the huddle before the final play, “we’re winning the game right now.”
“Playoffs are insanity,” Rick Carlisle said on the incredible back and forth ending. “They really are. Guys are going to pull otherworldly efforts out of their hearts and their guts.”
“I live for these moments,” Haliburton said of that moment in the huddle. “That’s why I’m here. This organization puts a lot of trust in me.”
Haliburton, who finished with 18 points, 16 assists, and 10 rebounds, rose to the occasion long before those final moments. He contributed in a multitude of ways, including in areas you wouldn’t typically consider his strengths as a player.
In fact, he went just 1 for 12 from 3 as his—
“Let’s not nitpick the guy,” Rick Carlisle said after the game. “He got his second career triple double.”
You’re right, coach. There’s too much positive to talk about to dwell on the one thing that refused to go his way. Beyond his pitch-perfect passing, it wasn’t his shooting but his crashing of the offensive glass and his timely defensive plays that led the Pacers to victory.
“If you’re missing shots or you don’t feel involved, I think that’s when things can start to go bad,” said Myles Turner, who led the team with 29 points. “But Ty never once gave into that. That’s what the salute was for. He just stayed the course even when shots weren’t going in. I’ve never seen him crash the glass like this ever. He got up, had a couple crazy dunks. I think he understands what time of year this is. Even defensively, he’s really moving, he’s very active, using his length and really buying in at the right time.”
His five offensive rebounds were a career high. He gathered his own misses on a pair of occasions including one that led to a T.J. McConnell 3-pointer—that may have been the loudest the arena was all night until the game winner—and came rushing in from the corner to grab a few more including a bonkers tip dunk and another tipped in layup.
Haliburton has had two of the best defensive games of his career in this series, pressing his matchup for 94 feet, getting his hands in passing lanes, denying the ball, but late in the fourth quarter with the game tied, he was the low man in the paint on a Brook Lopez roll to the rim. Haliburton forced a wild shot by getting his hands on the ball and not fouling.
“As the series has progressed his defense and tenacity has ramped up,” Carlisle said. “His awareness for the little things in playoff basketball has become keener.”
While Haliburton was criticized for a lack of aggression in game one while only taking seven shots, he’s upped his performance and aggression in each successive game. Part of why he took 22 shots in this game is also a change in how the Bucks defended him as they turned their primary focus into stopping Pascal Siakam after he averaged 36.5 points in the first two games so it was good to see Haliburton repeatedly let it fly and find ways to get baskets inside as he made 7 of his 10 attempts from inside the arc.
With Damian Lillard (Achilles) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) both doubtful for game four, the Pacers have to take advantage of the possibly short-handed Bucks and do whatever it takes to go back to Milwaukee with a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. The Pacers expect that Giannis will be back soon in this series so every game without him becomes all the more important.
Player Grades:
- Tyrese Haliburton: A, automatic A from a playoff game winner.
- Myles Turner: A, 29 points, 9 rebounds. He’s having his best playoff series thus far. Read about him delivering on his end of the bargain with his request for fans.
- Pascal Siakam: B-. Pascal was still very good but he didn’t hit the same ridiculous efficiency that he did in the first two as the Bucks loaded up the paint and double teamed him far more often. He did have a huge offensive rebound and put back to get the Pacers a 3-point lead before Middleton’s first clutch shot. Siakam missed the and-1 free throw that could have given the team a two-possession lead. He finished with 17 points (7 of 17), 9 rebounds, and 4 assists.
- Andrew Nembhard: A-. The Pacers don’t win either of these last two games without his impressive play. He scored 16 points in this game and was the only starter to make more than half of their shot attempts. His aggression on offense continues to impress but his plays of the game where 3 consecutive offensive rebounds during a possession that saw the Pacers attempt six shots in overtime. They didn’t score but the effort and grit stood out as they wore the Bucks down. He hit a big shot in overtime from the elbow to tie the game with a minute left. He did also miss a free throw with 50 seconds left in regulation that also could have made the finish a little less stressful. He committed a lot of fouls on 3-point shooters but it’s hard to fault him a ton with how much foul baiting the Bucks were attempting and being rewarded for.
- Aaron Nesmith: B-. Nesmith had a rough game as he was being torched by his mentor Middleton while being unable to make anything from outside the entire game. However, he channeled the ghost of Travis Best from Game 5 of the first-round series against the Bucks in 2000, who also was struggled to make anything all game before hitting a 3 in the corner to save the 1-seed Pacers from disaster of losing in the first round. Same corner, same arena, same opponent, both plays initiated primarily by the two stars of the team. Nesmith’s didn’t end up being a game winner like Best’s but the similarities are wild.
- Obi Toppin: B+, Toppin was crazy impactful in the first half, hitting 3-pointers, floaters on the roll, elbow jumpers on slot cuts, and finishing highlight reel alley oops. He continues to be critical to the Pacers ability to play small with Siakam at the five. He did not have the same impact in the second half as the bench struggled.
- T.J. McConnell: B. The scrappy point guard added 7 points, 2 assists, and a block. He hasn’t been able to make the same impact as he was at the end of the regular season but his 3-pointer may have been the loudest moment of the night before Haliburton’s floater.
- Ben Sheppard: Shepp had another killer reverse layup in this game where he also got fouled, giving the Pacers their first free throw after the Bucks had already taken 16. He finished with 6 points and 2 assists but having a credible wing defender off the bench has been critical for the Pacers so far in this series. Huge minutes for the rookie.
- Jalen Smith: INC. It feels wrong to give him a grade for only a couple of minutes. I honestly don’t understand why he played at all to be honest. Carlisle took Toppin out with 2 fouls and went with Stix to start the second quarter even though foul trouble shouldn’t be much of a concern for a guy who plays less than 20 minutes like Obi. Stix played 3 minutes, grabbed a rebound, and the Pacers were outscored by 6 while he was out there. Stick to 8, please.
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