Tyrese Haliburton drummed up a bit of controversy tonight with his celebration. What was supposed to be a callback to a moment etched in Pacers history ended up falling flat as tonight’s game went into overtime. However, Hali’s coach disagrees with his star point guard catching flak for his celebration tonight.

What happened was, after hitting what he thought was a game-winning 3, Tyrese Haliburton pulled out the “choking” celly. If you were a Pacers fan from the 90s, you’ll remember Reggie Miller doing the same celebration during Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. Well, Tyrese thought he was emulating the Indiana legend after hitting a game-winning three.

However, it turned out that Haliburton had his foot on the line. The game ended up going to overtime, with the Pacers still winning eventually. But head coach Rick Carlisle is not a fan of the criticism levied at Tyrese Haliburton. “Tyrese has earned the right to do whatever he wants,” said the Indiana Pacers head coach, per Rachel Nichols on X.

“At this time of year, you want to go into the most hostile, the most difficult environments and test your mettle. Go against Brunson, KAT, Bridges, these guys,” said the Pacers coach, emphasizing how the atmosphere in the postseason is unlike anything you’ll see during the regular season. But from Rick’s words, it’s clear that he doesn’t care what his players do when they’re overcome with emotion. All they need to do is win the game.

But Haliburton’s celebration could have very easily backfired tonight. After all, he did pull out the celebration a little earlier than he should have. And after the game, Tyrese explained why he chose this celebration and his feelings after the game went into overtime.

Tyrese Haliburton reveals Reggie Miller celebration felt “appropriate”

Things could have ended in disaster for Tyrese Haliburton if the Pacers had lost tonight. If he thought the trolling was bad when he was dubbed the most “overrated” player in the NBA, well. The backlash he’d have caught for pulling the Reggie Miller celly and losing? Now that would’ve garnered a worse reaction than The Weeknd’s latest movie.

But Tyrese explained why he chose to mimic the Pacers legend’s celebration. “Everybody’s been wanting me to do it. I was gonna hold it for the right time that felt appropriate, and then, you know, it went to overtime,” revealed the Pacers star. But this might not have been the last time we see him do it. “So, well, we have to save it for later,” he added before moving on to discuss the game.

You see, the New York Knicks did eventually choke tonight — Tyrese just called it prematurely. But after coming off a dominant series against the top-seeded Cavs and dropping 31 in tonight’s game, we’d argue Haliburton has earned the right to be a little overconfident, like his coach said.

All in all, don’t let Tyrese’s failed attempt at an iconic celebration distract you. The Indiana Pacers’ point guard has shown a new level in his game during this postseason. And if he can keep pulling clutch shots out of his bag like he’s done in the Cleveland series and now in the East’s finals — Indiana may be gearing up for their first-ever NBA title parade!