Reggie Miller had a giant smile for his mini-me: Tyrese Haliburton.
After Haliburton introduced the Pacers again from the depths of defeat for a stunning 138-135 win, the star guard mimicked Miller’s iconic choke signal in opposition to the Knicks –– and Miller was seen on digicam pointing in Haliburton’s route.
Miller tried to hide his grin as he pointed to Haliburton and put his hand over his mouth, as proven on the finish of the TNT broadcast.
“Yeah, after I finished my postgame interview, we locked eyes and had a little moment,” Haliburton stated. “I didn’t want to go over there because it is pretty hectic over there. But we communicate pretty often, so it was definitely a special moment. Really cool, he was in the building for that.”
The Knicks, who blew a 14-point lead with lower than three minutes left in regulation, are the primary workforce in 994 prior playoff video games to lose when being up 14 or extra factors with 2:45 or much less remaining within the recreation.
After Haliburton hit what he thought was a game-winning 3-point leap shot on the finish of regulation, he grabbed his throat simply as Miller did practically 30 years in the past.
Replays confirmed Haliburton’s foot was on the road, although, and the shot ship the sport to additional time the place the Pacers held on late.
When Miller did it on Could 7, 1995, the Pacers had been down 105-99 with 18.5 seconds remaining when he nailed a 3-pointer off an inbounds play.
Miller then hit a 3-pointer to tie the sport after an errant move. He would go on to hit two free throws to steal Sport 1 of the 1995 Jap Convention semifinals.
Haliburton, whereas not the catalyst of the comeback like Miller was, knew simply how massive of a choke job this was by the Knicks.
“In the moment, I wasn’t plotting it,” Haliburton stated after the sport. “It felt right at the time, but if I had known it was a two, I would not have done it.”
Haliburton’s two-point jumper despatched the sport to additional time, the place they might win the sport and ship Knicks followers house shocked, dejected, and completely livid.
He has guard Aaron Neismith to thank for his efforts within the comeback, turning into the primary participant in NBA historical past to hit six 3-pointers within the fourth quarter of an NBA playoff recreation.
Sport 2 on Friday evening ought to be field workplace as a must-win for the Knicks.
