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Tyrese Haliburton Credits Rick Carlisle for Bold Coaching Move That Led to Final Shot

Carlisle kept his timeout in his pocket after the Pacers got the critical defensive stop.
Blake Silverman|
Indiana Pacers guard Haliburton and forward Toppin celebrate after the Pacers defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center.
Indiana Pacers guard Haliburton and forward Toppin celebrate after the Pacers defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

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Indiana PacersOklahoma City Thunder

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers did it again. They came away with a miraculous 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Haliburton made an improbable shot to win Game 1 on the road in the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks and he did it once more in this Game 1 on the NBA's biggest stage.

Indiana came up with a big defensive stop off a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander miss and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle chose to keep his one timeout left in his pocket. The ball found its way to Haliburton with just over six seconds remaining before he drained a long two after creating space on Thunder guard and elite defender Cason Wallace.

Immediately after the game, Haliburton credited his coach for trusting his team in pivotal moments.

"We got the stop and coach [Carlisle] trusts us in those moments to not call timeouts," Haliburton said of the game-winning shot in his postgame interview on the ESPN broadcast. "He trusts me in those moments, the guys trust me and I was just trying to make a play. So, man, basketball is fun. Winning is fun. That's a great win for us."

Carlisle's decision to let play go once the Pacers controlled possession led to the game-winning shot and gave Indiana the chance to call a timeout before the Thunder inbounded the ball with 0.3 seconds left.

Haliburton had 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on the night. The Pacers come away with a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Finals ahead of Game 2 in Oklahoma City on Sunday.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.

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