Pacers-Knicks: Tyrese Haliburton channels Reggie Miller's choke sign celebration before Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 win

With Reggie Miller in the building, Tyrese Haliburton knew what to do.

The Indiana Pacers star sent Wednesday’s Eastern Conference finals opener to overtime with another sensational buzzer-beater that capped a stunning New York Knicks collapse in the fourth quarter. It led to a 138-135 Pacers overtime win to steal a 1-0 series lead in front of a stunned Madison Square Garden crowd.

Thanks in large part to hot 3-point shooting from Aaron Nesmith, the Pacers rallied from a 113-98 deficit in the final five minutes of regulation and trailed the Knicks, 125-123 with 7.3 seconds remaining. 

The Pacers got the ball into the hands of Haliburton, who dribbled full court, then circled back past the 3-point line with a chance to win the game. As the clock ticked down, he stepped up and shot from the top of the key. The ball bounced off the back of the rim, straight up and in as the buzzer sounded. 

Haliburton made a beeline for the sideline, where Pacers legend Miller was on the broadcast call for TNT. He then delivered the same choke sign that Miller gave the Knicks after sinking New York with 25 fourth-quarter points in a Game 5 win in the 1994 Eastern Conference finals. 

Haliburton’s celebration was premature. His shot wasn’t a game-winner. Replay review correctly confirmed that his right toe was on the 3-point line. But it sent the game to overtime. And the Pacers held on for the 3-point win in the extra session. 

After the game, Haliburton spoke with TNT about the choke sign. 

“Everybody’s been wanting me to do it,” he said. “I was going to hold it for the right time. It felt appropriate. And then, you know, it went to overtime.”

He reiterated postgame that he would have saved the celebration had he known his shot was not a 3.

“If I knew it was a 2, I would not have done it,” he told reporters. “I might have wasted it.”

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, meanwhile, gave Haliburton’s celebration his stamp of approval.

“Tyrese has earned the right to do whatever he wants,” Carlisle told reporters.

For comparison’s sake, here’s the choke sign Miller delivered directly to Knicks super fan Spike Lee in 1994.

On that day, the Pacers trailed 70-58 after three quarters, then rallied to a 93-86 win thanks in large part to Miller’s 25 fourth-quarter points. Miller addressed Haliburton’s homage on the TNT mic.

“The kind bounce. The choke sign. We’re getting it all here in Game 1,” Miller said before the start of overtime.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, the Knicks won the last two games of the 1994 series to advance to the NBA Finals. Haliburton and Co. are surely aiming for a better outcome this time around.