Tyrese Haliburton appears well on his way to establishing himself as the new public enemy No. 1 for New York Knicks fans.
On Wednesday night, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at Madison Square Garden, Haliburton knocked down an incredible shot in regulation to force overtime in a hotly contested matchup.
Haliburton almost won the game with his shot. He stepped on the 3-point line, though, which led the referees to rule out what would have been a game-winning trey at the buzzer.
Pacers legend Reggie Miller was on the call for TNT for Game 1, and the Hall of Famer had the perfect reaction to Haliburton’s clutch heroics — especially after the Indiana guard busted out Miller’s infamous choke sign celebration after he hit his shot.
WHAT THE HALIBURTON 🤯 https://t.co/OosMAZ6Lwfpic.twitter.com/HCjSjuym2h
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 22, 2025
All Miller could do was laugh after watching Haliburton’s shot hit the bottom of the net. His co-commentator Stan Van Gundy brought up Haliburton’s homage with the choke signal, which prompted another sly laugh from the NBA shooting legend.
Miller then uttered a one-word reaction. “Wow,” he said.
Fans at MSG on Wednesday night must have had flashbacks to when Miller first made the choking gesture against the Knicks more than three decades ago.
Happy birthday Reggie Miller! And honestly, “SPIKE WHO!?” 😄 pic.twitter.com/B9RXQKRRnh
— OLDSKOOLBBALL (@oldskoolbballx) August 24, 2024
Haliburton and the Pacers would escape with a 138-135 victory in the extra period after going down by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Indiana is now 1-0 up in this series, and Haliburton will be looking to keep his foot on the gas when these two teams face off again on Friday for Game 2.
Right now, the Pacers are just three wins away from booking their spot in the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years.
Related: NBA Shooting Legend Reggie Miller Facing Backlash During Game 1 of Knicks-Pacers