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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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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 contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.

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