Amid Tyrese Haliburton Being Celebrated For His Game Winner, Magic Johnson Credits Rick Carlisle For The Pacers’ Game 1 Finals Win Over OKC

Tyrese Haliburton has done it again. The Indiana Pacers started off slow and were down 12 points in the first half. Amid Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring spree, it seemed like they weren’t going to bounce back. In the second half, they did put up a fight, but it wasn’t enough until the very end.

The Pacers were down 15 points in the fourth quarter. Then, the Indiana franchise summoned all its strength and ended up on the winning side. Once again, Haliburton was their hero.

With less than five seconds to go in the fourth quarter, the Pacers were down one point with Haliburton on the ball. The 25-year-old stepped inside the three-point line and hit the game-winning jump shot, putting his team up 111-110 with 0.3 seconds left.

The two-time All-Star is being praised for his clutch performance, and it’s well deserved. If he didn’t make the shot, the Pacers would’ve started the Finals series with a loss. However, he isn’t the only one who should be praised. According to Magic Johnson, the spotlight should be on the head coach, Rick Carlisle, as well.

Magic took to X to praise Carlisle’s adjustments in the fourth quarter, which he believes helped the Pacers win. He wrote, “Give Coach Rick Carlisle a lot of credit – he made some outstanding adjustments coming out of the half, especially in the fourth quarter!” There’s no denying that Carlisle’s strategy is what won them the game, and Haliburton would be the first to admit it.

The 65-year-old coach has been on his A-game throughout this campaign. He has made the right adjustments at the right time, made great challenges, timeout calls, and substitutions. The players on the floor have just executed his plans. Carlisle is being deservingly praised for the same, even by his rival coach.

When the OKC coach Mark Daigneault was asked if he feels like a veteran in the league, considering he has been coaching since 2007, he said, “Not when I’m coaching against Rick Carlisle. I feel like a rookie.” Despite their slow start, the Pacers put up an overall great performance, which includes the job done by the coaches as well.

Magic is thoroughly impressed by that showcase. He referred to his comment from days ago to heap more praise on the Indiana franchise. Magic wrote, “Remember what I said… the Pacers beat every team they’ve faced on the road during the Playoffs and they kept that streak going tonight against OKC!”

The Pacers coach, on the other hand, isn’t letting the first win get to his head. “We were very fortunate tonight, but we did a lot to give ourselves a chance,” he said after the win.

Getting a win over the OKC in the first game is a great start to the potential seven-game series for the Pacers. More importantly, they’ve clinched a win on the road, which will not only give them an upper hand but can also make them more dangerous when the series comes back to Indiana.