Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton invoked one of the most famous taunts in his franchise’s history right in front of the guy who first introduced it.
He later admitted he may have wasted it.
That would be the legendary “choke” gesture made famous by Hall of Famer Reggie Miller in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.
Haliburton made the “choke” gesture at the end of regulation of Game 1 against the Knicks Wednesday night when it had appeared that he’d made a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap off a historic comeback.
Video replay showed that Haliburton’s foot was on the line, which made it a game-tying 2-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Whoops.
“If I would have known it was a 2, I would not have done it. So I might have wasted it,” Haliburton told reporters after the game.
It all worked out for Haliburton and the Pacers who went on to seal the 138-135 win in overtime to take a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Indy stormed back from a 14-point deficit in the last 2:40 of the game, becoming the first time in NBA history to close such a deficit.
The Pacers did it in front of Miller, who was at Madison Square Garden calling the game for TNT. The broadcast noted the reference right as it happened.
“He tried to give your choke sign to the Knicks, and the game’s not over,” Stan Van Gundy said to Miller on the broadcast.
Haliburton acknowledged the significance of pulling out the move in front of the Hall of Famer.
“Definitely a special time, and yeah, really cool he was in the building for that,” the two-time All-Star said.
Haliburton finished with a team-high 31 points, going 12-of-23 from the field, including 4-of-12 from beyond the arc.
However, don’t expect him to pull out the choke gesture again against the Knicks. As fun as it was in the moment, Haliburton is aware that it didn’t work out too well for Miller in ’94.
The Knicks wound up winning that series. We’ll have to wait and see if the Pacers suffer a similar fate in 2025.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.