NEW YORK (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton was waiting for the right time to bring back Reggie Miller’s choke signal from the Pacers’ postseason past.
A big shot at Madison Square Garden with Miller in the building seemed perfect — even though his celebration turned out to be premature.
Haliburton ran toward the crowd along the sideline with his hands around his neck after hitting a long jumper as time expired in regulation Wednesday night. He hoped it was a 3-pointer to beat the New York Knicks, but video replay showed that his toe was on the line and it was a 2 that had tied the game.
The Pacers went on to win 138-135 in overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
“Everybody wanted me to do it like last year at some different point, but it’s got to feel right and it felt right at the time,” Haliburton said. “If I would have known it was a 2, I would not have done it. So I might have wasted it.”
Miller flashed the choke signal to Knicks superfan Spike Lee while leading a rally in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals. The Hall of Fame guard scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to put the Pacers up 3-2 in the series, though New York rallied to win the next two games.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle wasn’t worried about Haliburton inciting the crowd the way Miller loved to during the fierce rivalry of the 1990s.
“Listen, players can do what they want and it’s an emotional thing. It’s not a big deal,” Carlisle said. “It’s not a big deal. We got to go out there, the place is unlikely to be any louder than it was tonight.”
After Haliburton scored 26 points to lead the Pacers past the Knicks last year in Game 7 of the East semifinals at MSG, he wore a sweatshirt featuring Miller’s choke pose to his postgame press conference.
Miller was on the crew calling the game for TNT on Wednesday. Haliburton said they communicate often and though weren’t able to speak immediately after the game, they did make eye contact.
“Definitely a special time, and yeah, really cool he was in the building for that,” Haliburton said.
