Ranking Tyrese Haliburton’s 4 game-winning shots from 2025 playoffs

Tyrese Haliburton added to his lengthy list of game-winners in the 2025 playoffs with this clutch shot in Game 1 vs. OKC.

A game-winning shot in the playoffs can be a career-defining moment for a player and a highlight associated with them long beyond their playing years.

Tyrese Haliburton is building a collection of these shots throughout Indiana’s playoff run, with the latest coming in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City on Thursday night.

It was Haliburton’s fourth go-ahead or game-tying bucket in the final five seconds of the 4th quarter or overtime this postseason — and the fifth of his career. Only one player has more such shots than Haliburton in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98): LeBron James (who has eight).

Let’s break down each and rank them based on the shot itself and the fallout result.

1. Game-winning jumper with 0.3 seconds left vs. OKC

• The Game: NBA Finals (Game 1), Pacers vs. Thunder
• The Situation: Trailing by as many as 15 in the 4th quarter and down 9 with 2:52 to play, the Pacers closed the deficit to one point in the closing seconds. After a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander miss, the Pacers collected the rebound, didn’t call a timeout and got the ball to Haliburton.
• The Shot: Defended by Cason Wallace, Haliburton probed his way across midcourt, then drove right and pulled up from 21 feet, splashing the jumper with 00.3 left on the clock.
• The Fallout: Haliburton’s shot gave the Pacers their first lead of the game — the latest into a Finals game a team has taken its first lead since tracking began in 1971 — capping off their record fifth comeback win by 15 or more points this postseason. As great as the other shots on this list are — and considering this was Haliburton’s Finals debut and the stakes in play on the championship stage — this has to rank No. 1 on the list

2: Game-tying jumper at the buzzer vs. New York

• The Game: Eastern Conference Finals (Game 1), Pacers vs. Knicks
• The Situation: Trailing by as many as 17 midway through the 4th quarter and down nine with 51.1 seconds left, the Pacers needed a Madison Square Garden miracle — and Haliburton delivered. After OG Anunoby split a pair of free throws with 7.2 seconds left, the Pacers had no timeouts, inbounded to Haliburton and let him work against Mikal Bridges.
• The Shot: When Haliburton drove into the lane, Bridges poked the ball away. As Haliburton recovered, he retreated toward the 3-point line and launched what he thought was a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer. The ball bounced off the back rim and went straight up — peaking above shot-clock level before dropping through the net.
• The Fallout: Haliburton celebrated as if he won the game, even emulating the choke sign made famous by Reggie Miller (who was courtside calling the game for TNT). The replay showed that Haliburton’s toe was on the line, making it a deep two-pointer, which tied the game and forced overtime. In a back-and-forth extra five minutes, the Pacers closed on an 8-4 run to get the win and would eventually oust their longtime rivals in Game 6.

3: Game-winning stepback 3 vs. Cleveland

• The Game: East semifinals (Game 2), Pacers vs. Cavs
• The Situation: Indiana trailed by as many as 20 points in the 3rd quarter and was down seven with 48 seconds left before beginning one of its signature rallies. Down three with 20 seconds left, Haliburton drove the lane and drew a foul with 12.4 seconds left to send him to the free-throw line.
• The Shot: After making the first to make it a two-point game, Haliburton intentionally missed the second, secured the rebound and retreated to the top of the key. He faked driving into the key before stepping back beyond the 3-point line and sank the game-winner with 1.1 seconds left.
• The Fallout: Having already stolen Game 1 in Cleveland, the stunning win gave Indiana a commanding 2-0 lead over the No. 1 seed in the East, who ruled the conference for nearly the entire season. The Pacers would win the series in five games, clinching a second straight Eastern Conference Finals berth.

4: Series-clinching layup in OT vs. Milwaukee

• The Game: First round (Game 5), Pacers vs. Bucks
• The Situation: Trailing by as many as 20 in the 1st half, the Pacers clawed their way back into the game, forcing overtime on a Haliburton driving dunk with 11 seconds left. Milwaukee used a 15-5 run to take a seven-point lead with 40 seconds left in OT. Andrew Nembhard’s 3-pointer and a Haliburton and-1 pulled Indy within one with 17 seconds left.
• The Shot: A Milwaukee turnover with 11 seconds left opened the door for Indiana, and Haliburton took it upon himself to answer. Met by Giannis Antetokounmpo on a switch, Haliburton drove past the former Kia Defensive Player of the Year and got to the rim for the go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds left.
• The Fallout: A desperation heave by Gary Trent Jr. missed, sealing the 4-1 series win as the Pacers ousted the Bucks for the second straight season in the first round.

That’s how great Haliburton has been this postseason: a series-clinching shot is his fourth-best clutch bucket of the 2025 postseason. Indiana still has at least three more games for him to keep adding to the list.

As great as his postseason run has been, hitting clutch shots is something Haliburton has done all season. After Thursday’s win, he is shooting a ridiculous 86.7% (13-of-15) on game-tying or go-ahead shots in the final two minutes of the 4th quarter or overtime.

Game 2 is Sunday in Oklahoma City (8 ET, ABC). The Thunder have lost only two home games to an East opponent in the past 450 days … and both came against Haliburton and the Pacers.

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