"Can't say enough about his clutch gene" - Stephen A. Smith calls Tyrese Haliburton 'the most clutch player we've seen in the postseason era originally appeared on Basketball Network .
For most players, hitting even one or two clutch buckets in a single postseason is enough to earn widespread praise. But for Tyrese Haliburton , clutch shots have become a defining trait. Whenever the ball is in his hands during the dying seconds, it feels almost inevitable that he'll lift his Indiana Pacers to victory - regardless of the opponent.
After knocking game-winning or game-tying buckets in the final five seconds of the Pacers' first three playoff series, the two-time All-Star did it again on Thursday night, this time on the grandest stage.
He spearheaded Indiana's miraculous 15-point fourth-quarter comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, prompting even Stephen A. Smith to acknowledge and appreciate his clutch gene.
For much of the night, it seemed like OKC had complete control over the series opener. They led nearly for the entire contest, with the only time they trailed being the final 0.3 seconds of the game. Moreover, the Thunder looked dominant, never looking to give away their momentum, even when the Pacers kept making small scoring runs midway in the contest.
With no Pacer reaching the 20-point mark, it looked like nobody was in rhythm to trouble OKC's defense. However, Andrew Nembhard and Myles Turner scoring eight points each in the final quarter set the stage perfectly for Haliburton to hammer the final knock. With less than 12 seconds on the clock, the Pacers refused to call a timeout and let Tyrese run the ball down the court to knock the game-winner despite him shooting 5-of-12 from the field before that attempt.
OKC had practically no time left to take a decent shot, and the home crowd evidently went silent after the shocking loss. Addressing Tyrese's heroics, Stephen A. praised Tyrese's confidence to be fearless and rise in the most pressure moments, overlooking how much he had struggled in the rest of the game.
"A closer. I feel he's one of the most clutch players we have ever seen in the postseason era. He's been spectacular to watch. He was getting thoroughly outplayed for three and a half quarters and he appeared to be a no-show. We were looking at him and wondering what the hell was going on. And this brother really, really showed up to hit the game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left. You can't say enough about his clutch gene, he has the ice in his veins, the ability to perform under pressure, " Smith said. " He deserves all the credit in the world for that."
Now, after such a heartbreaking collapse, the Thunder are left reeling. They know now that the Pacers are never out of the game, no matter how big a lead they have. Indiana's collective grit and grind mentality has proven time and again that its strength lies in relentless teamwork and trust. For Gilgeous Alexander and the Thunder, the pressure has only mounted after surrendering a game they all but had in the bag.
That being said, the question now remains if Tyrese has hampered the Thunder's morale so viciously that they won't even be able to bounce back or coach Mark Diagneault's team has one last pish of dominance still left in their tank.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
