DURING A REPLAY review with 22.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the path to Tyrese Haliburton's game-winning shot was set.
The Pacers were awaiting the outcome of a challenge from coach Rick Carlisle, who wanted officials to double-check whether Pascal Siakam was fouled or had touched the ball last before falling out of bounds.
It was a pivotal swing with Indiana trailing by one point, and Carlisle wanted to make sure his team was prepared for either outcome. If the review was successful, the Pacers would have possession of the ball. If not, he instructed his crew to play defense and get a stop without fouling. And with about an eight-second difference between the shot and game clock, the message was clear. There would not be another timeout. Get the rebound and go.
«Get the ball in Tyrese's hands,» Carlisle said after the game that evening. «And look to make a play.»
First, the Pacers got the stop — easier said than done against the league's reigning Most Valuable Player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but he missed a 15-foot fadeaway with Andrew Nembhard glued to his hip on defense. Aaron Nesmith corralled a tough rebound over Lu Dort before a crowd of players swarmed to the paint. Nesmith quickly shuffled the ball to Siakam, who found Obi Toppin, who swung the ball to Haliburton, giving him possession just before half court with six seconds remaining on the clock.
What followed was one of the most clutch shots in NBA Finals history. Haliburton dribbled and jab-stepped along the Pacers' sideline before curling back inside the arc and rising up to score the game-winning basket, a 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining as the Pacers stole Game 1 of the series in Oklahoma City.
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