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[Saba Sports News] Tyrese Haliburton delivered what may be the most jaw-dropping moment of the NBA playoffs so far — and the real-time reaction from the Inside the NBA crew made it even more unforgettable.
During Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday, the Indiana Pacers star hit a miracle shot at Madison Square Garden to send the game against the New York Knicks into overtime.
Down by 14 with under three minutes to play, the Pacers clawed back, and with the clock winding down, Haliburton had the ball knocked loose — only to recover it and sink a wild stepback jumper that bounced high off the rim before falling through at the buzzer.
Indiana rode the momentum into overtime, ultimately stealing a 138-135 win on the road to take a 1-0 series lead.
On Thursday, Inside the NBA camera operator “Slice” shared a behind-the-scenes Instagram clip capturing the crew’s stunned, hilarious, and completely unfiltered reactions to Haliburton’s heroics.
The video has everything: Charles Barkley going wild and dropping an enthusiastic F-bomb, Draymond Green (guesting on the show) repeatedly shouting “Oh my god!”, Kenny Smith calmly holding up two fingers to indicate the basket was worth just that, and Shaquille O’Neal playfully holding up three to stir the pot.
Even Ernie Johnson, the steady anchor of the panel, was left speechless with his mouth agape.
The raw excitement and chaos echoed another iconic moment in recent memory — the viral footage of Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon reacting to Deandre Ayton’s legendary “Valley Oop” in 2021. With plenty of basketball left to be played in the series, Haliburton’s buzzer-beater and the Inside the NBA crew’s reaction already feels like an instant classic.