The Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the most dramatic of fashions Tuesday night when star Tyrese Haliburton defied all odds and pulled off what would be the game-winning four-point play.
Down 114-111 with roughly four seconds left on the clock, the Pacers drew up something that looked like it came out of an NFL coach's playbook—and it worked.
SHIIIIIIIIII... Great route and a ridiculous shot from Tyrese Haliburton pic.twitter.com/XQi69EWpSc
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) March 12, 2025
Haliburton ran a semi-wheel route down the left sideline, received the inbounded pass, then jumped and sank a ridiculous Hail Mary three-pointer over Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo. Haliburton also got the and-1 after Antetokounmpo appeared to foul him by stepping in his landing zone.
All in all, it was a wild four-point game-winning play to close out the night. Haliburton spoke to ESPN about the origins of the wide receiver-style play after the Pacers' win and said the team actually tried something similar in the 2024 NBA playoffs.
Sure enough, the Pacers drew up nearly the exact same play in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics last year, but they unfortunately came up short at the buzzer.
Here's a video of the plays side-by-side:
If you’re currently thinking: “have i seen that final Pacers ATO before?”
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 12, 2025
The answer is not only yes, but it was the same exact score.
Today, a different result. pic.twitter.com/u2w3Y8SF6e
It looks like second time's the charm, though, as Haliburton and the Pacers came away with one of the most unlikeliest wins of the NBA season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pacers Brought Back Cool NFL-Style Play for Thrilling Game-Winner vs. Bucks.
