Tyrese Haliburton Quickly Flags New Problem for Coach Carlisle After Pacers “Cheat Death” Again in ECF

How do the Indiana Pacers keep finding such ways to win? In Game 1 against the New York Knicks, the Pacers didn’t have a large stretch of control. With 40 seconds, they were down 8. Next moment, Aaron Nesmith went nuclear, hitting three after three, while Haliburton forced overtime with a buzzer-beater. From there, Indiana’s grip was too tight. They didn’t score first in OT, but Madison Square Garden knew it was their night.

Haliburton pulled out the iconic Reggie Miller ‘choke’ celebration, thinking he won the game in regulation. The mishap, though, couldn’t hide the fact that the Pacers broke the Knicks. They overcame a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to steal a win on the road.

And after having done something similar against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, Haliburton was beyond ecstatic. “I’m so proud of the resilience of this group. We have shown it all year. We’ve had to win in so many different, random, unique ways, and today we just kept going, kept fighting, and man that’s fun,” he said about their statement victory.

Pride was something the entire Pacers community felt at the time. But Tyrese Haliburton didn’t want the victory to get into their heads. Looking back at their performance, he did find one flaw that put Indiana in a dire situation.

May 13, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

“That’s a hell of a win but I do really think there’s a lot for us to improve on. I don’t know what the final rebounding number was. Felt like they dominated us there. That’s an area where we want to be great,” he noted.

The Knicks did win the rebounding convincingly. They grabbed 16 more rebounds than the Pacers. Their tenacity was one of the reasons they maintained a steady and rising lead in the second half. However, even when Jalen Brunson went off for 43, Nesmith’s laser shooting and the Pacers’ thunderous offense seem to be capable of anything.

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