Tyrese Haliburton Caps Stunning Pacers Comeback With Clutch Game-Winning Three

The Pacers are up 2–0 in their series against the Cavaliers after overcoming a seven-point deficit in the final minute.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts during a time out during game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts during a time out during game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Tyrese Haliburton overrated? Not so much on Tuesday.

The Indiana Pacers trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers for much of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, falling behind 32-15 after the first quarter. The Pacers began to seriously come back in the fourth quarter, coming within four points of the Cavaliers by the final 90 seconds of the game. The Cavaliers extended the lead up to 119-112 on two free throws by Donovan Mitchell in the final minute of the game, but those were their final points.

Pacers' Aaron Nesmith dunked a basket in and Pascal Siakam followed with a layup. Tyrese Haliburton was fouled in the final 13 seconds of the game with the Pacers trailing by three. He made his first free throw, but missed his second. Fortunately, Haliburton managed to secure the rebound off his missed free throw and then successfully hit the game-winning three-pointer, taking a 120-119 lead with just one second left on the clock.

For the second time, the Pacers stunned the No. 1 seeded Cavaliers in Cleveland, and now take a 2-0 lead with the series now going back to Indianapolis.

The Pacers win ensured that the thrilling comebacks continued during the 2024-25 conference semifinals. Just one day after the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets pulled off thrilling road comebacks, the Pacers have done the same thanks to Haliburton's late-game heroics.


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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.