“Unbelievable! Reggie hits a three with seven-tenths of a second to go!” 27 years ago, this was not simply a broadcaster announcing what he had just seen, but the overall atmosphere of Market Square Arena (former home arena for the Indiana Pacers) in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Then, with just 2.9 seconds on the clock, Reggie Miller made way through Ron Harper, shoving Michael Jordan on the perimeter, to catch the inbounding ball. With no dribble, he turns around, and shoots the ball, hoping for it to go down. As the entire arena held its breath, eyes stuck on the ball and the hoop, there it went. That… was the most clutch player in the league at that time proving his skills.

Almost three decades later, as the Indiana Pacers work their way to the first NBA title, they are watching their point guard make those clutch shots. Over the course of the 2025 playoffs, we saw the Iowa State alum make a quick clutch shot to beat Milwaukee in Game 5 of the first round then against Cleveland in Game 2 for the second and then the game tying stunner against the Knicks in which he hit the Reggie Miller choke pose in Game 1. But who expected that same “Relentless energy” in the Finals where they never led the game?!

With 8 seconds to go, Indiana caught a rebound off of a missed jumper from the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. With HC Rick Carlisle not calling a timeout, Haliburton picked the ball and drove downhill. At 3 seconds on the game clock, the entire Paycom Center, who saw over the Pacers’ magical playoff run just what the point guard can do, stood from its seats. With under 2 seconds remaining, Hali pulled the jumper. And with three-tenths of a second remaining, he hit it straight down the hoop. Even the shocked broadcaster asked– “How many more times can this team do that?” While Pacers fans everywhere were losing their minds, Reggie Miller gave us all a peek into his own celebration about the goosebump-worthy moment that pulled Indiana out of a grave they dug for a 111-110 road win.

Let’s just let that incredible moment sink in for a second. The Pacers, after getting punched in the mouth all game and trailing by as many as 15 in the fourth, pull off another one of their miracle comebacks against OKC. It was an instant classic. 

The Pacers legend hopped on his Instagram story and posted a clip from his security camera footage of his living room. You see him and his family on the absolute edge of their seats, and the second Hali’s shot drops? The whole room just erupts! Even with no sound in the clip, we could feel the energy. They’re on their feet, screaming, jumping around – it’s pure, unadulterated fan joy from one of the most clutch players to ever do it.

But it was Reggie’s caption that sealed the deal, the ultimate stamp of approval. He wrote: “I think this was all of @pacers Nation at the closing of Game 1!!! Well done @tyresehaliburton.” That’s not just some casual shoutout. That’s Mr. Clutch himself, the guy who owned the 90s with his big shots and even bigger swagger, anointing the new kid on the block. It’s Reggie basically saying, “Yeah, that’s the guy. He’s got it.”

And he did not stop there. After about an hour, Miller posted a photo of a fan’s daughter that had a caption, “My baby girl doing the Reggie Miller choke after the Pacers win🤣🤣🤣.”

Talking about Miller’s celebration and the connection between him and Hali, it’s been building all postseason. Remember in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks, when Haliburton hit that step-back dagger in Game 1 and then mockingly did Reggie’s infamous “choke” celebration at Madison Square Garden? That was Hali embracing the legacy. And get this: that game-winning shot wasn’t just a great moment; it was literally historic.

With that bucket, Tyrese Haliburton has now tied Reggie Miller’s record for the most go-ahead or game-tying field goals in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in a single postseason (a stat tracked since the 1997 playoffs). The only player in NBA history with more in a single playoff run is LeBron James, who had eight.

This clutch gene we’re seeing from Haliburton isn’t coming out of nowhere, either. This is a guy who’s been playing angry, fueled by doubt. Think about his journey: his team got swept in the ECF last year, he barely played in the Olympics last summer, the Pacers got off to a rough 10-15 start this season, and he even had to deal with some of his own NBA peers calling him “overrated.” He’s been carrying all of those receipts. And his response?

He’s delivering one of the most clutch playoff runs we’ve seen in years. That game-winner against OKC? That was his fourth game-winner or game-tying shot in the final seconds of a game in these playoffs alone! But when you ask him, he has a not-so-usual “it’s consistent training” type of a reasoning for this performance.

“It’s gotta be the shoooeeesss!”: Was Hali’s new PUMA the real MVP of game 1?

So, after Tyrese Haliburton ripped the hearts out of the OKC faithful with that stunning game-winner, everyone wanted to know: how did he do it? How does he stay so calm in those insane, high-pressure moments? Well, in his post-game press conference, Hali, with a huge grin on his face said that it was his shoes.

That’s right! After answering a few questions, Haliburton literally picked up one of his brand-new, brightly colored sneakers, placed it right on the press conference table for all the cameras to see, and, channeling his inner Mars Blackmon from those classic Nike commercials, smiled and said, “It’s gotta be the shoooeeesss.”

And what a night it was to debut your first-ever signature shoe! The PUMA Hali 1, which was officially released just hours before tip-off, got about the best on-court debut you could possibly imagine. Created in collaboration with the renowned designer Salehe Bembury, the Hali 1s are a slick, low-cut model that he rocked in a Hibiscus colorway.

While Hali might have been joking about the shoes being the only reason for his clutch play, you can’t deny he balled out in them. Even though it was a relatively quiet scoring night for him with 14 points, he was a beast everywhere else, grabbing 10 defensive rebounds, dishing out six assists, and adding a steal and two blocks. And most importantly, he delivered the dagger, the shot that mattered most, to snatch Game 1 from the jaws of defeat.

Even on a night where his own scoring was relatively quiet (he finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists), he made the play that mattered most. His teammate, Myles Turner, summed up Hali’s leadership perfectly: “He’s a baller, man, he’s a hooper… When it comes to those moments he wants the ball.” He’s already a two-time All-Star, an Olympic gold medalist, and now he’s leading his team in the NBA Finals. So yeah, maybe it is the shoes.

Or maybe, it’s just Tyrese Haliburton, a superstar who is not just meeting the moment, but making it his own, and having a whole lot of fun while he does it. After a thrilling Game 1, he put it simply: “Man, basketball’s fun. Winning is fun.” You can’t argue with that.