It’s the NFL offseason, but leave it to Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers to turn a basketball game into a football contest — sort of. Down by three points with just roughly four seconds left in regulation of Tuesday night’s home game against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers looked to inbound a ball and appeared to run a play that was straight out of “Madden.”
With Andrew Nembhard inbounding the leather, three Pacers players on the floor took off from behind the half-court line as though they were running football routes.
While that was happening, Haliburton darted across the court to receive the pass before burying a Hail Mary 3-pointer that tied the score at 114-114. The former Iowa State Cyclones star also fished a shooting foul, which he took advantage of, sinking the game-winning free throw to give Indiana the 115-114 victory.
View this post on Instagram
Via the Associated Press (h/t ESPN):
“It’s like a football play,” Haliburton said, noting that his teammates ran crossing routes. “It was great to see it work. The first time we ever ran the play in training camp two years ago, I made the shot the same way. I haven’t got the ball since. I usually hate running the play.”
Haliburton finished the game with 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting to go with 10 assists while also ensuring that Pascal Siakam‘s big night wouldn’t go to waste.
Siakam had 25 points, 12 boards and five dimes versus the Bucks, who suffered their first loss in three games this season against the Pacers.
Social media reactions to Indiana Pacers’ “NFL” play and win
Fans online can’t help but have a fun time talking about how the game between the Pacers and the Bucks ended, particularly the play that Indiana ran to give them a chance to steal a win. Here are some of the reactions from Instagram commenters.
“Rick carlisle boutta get an nfl job😂,
“Might be one of the craziest game winners ever”
“We got footsketball before GTA 6”
“Them boys running Football Fusion routes 😂”
“Pacers running a better offense than cowboys lol”
“And they said NBA players can’t play in NFL 😂”
For More NBA, WNBA, and College Basketball Content:
Follow me on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) at @Rexwell14. Also, do not forget to follow us at @HardwoodHeroics on social media for even more basketball content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in the world of the NBA, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball and also the WNBA, click here!
