There was never a doubt in Tyrese Haliburton’s mind.The Indiana Pacers star has done it too often – especially in the 2025 playoffs – to not have confidence in the closing seconds.
Haliburton hit a 20-foot pull-up jumper in the final second on Thursday as the Pacers completed a stunning comeback for a 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
It was the 25-year-old’s fourth big-time shot in the closing seconds during this year’s playoffs.
The Pacers hadn’t led in Thursday’s finals opener until Halliburton drained his latest clutch hoop with 0.3 seconds remaining.
“Ultimate confidence in himself,” Indiana’s Myles Turner said of Haliburton. “Some players will say they have it, but there are other players that show it … He wants to be the one to hit that shot. He doesn’t shy away from that moment.”
In Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs, Haliburton cut through the lane to hit a driving layup with 1.3 seconds left in overtime, giving the Pacers a win and ending the series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Advertisement
In Game 2 of the second round, he hit a step-back 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to put Indiana up one and put the Cleveland Cavaliers into a 2-0 hole.
Then in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Haliburton hit another step …
