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[Saba Sports News] Tyrese Haliburton got a bit too crafty in the final seconds of Saturday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets — and it nearly cost the Indiana Pacers.
With just 15 seconds remaining and the Pacers up 104–95 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the game looked all but over. But a sequence of quick mistakes gave the Nets sudden life.
After Cam Johnson converted a three-point play to trim the lead to six, Haliburton stepped in to inbound the ball.
That’s when things got messy.
Attempting a sneaky off-the-back inbounds play, Haliburton tried to bounce the ball off Nets wing Trendon Watford.
But Watford was ready. He grabbed the ball mid-air, backed into the corner, and drilled a three-pointer — instantly turning a blowout into a one-possession game.
It was a risky move — and the wrong target. Just two nights earlier, Bennedict Mathurin had pulled off the same trick on Watford. This time, the Nets forward wasn’t getting fooled twice.
Luckily for Haliburton, the miscue didn’t derail the Pacers. Indiana closed things out by hitting four of their final five free throws to secure a 108–103 win.
Haliburton still delivered a strong performance with 16 points and 12 assists, but the late-game blunder might make him think twice before reaching into the trick bag again during crunch time.