By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
We always talk about the players who make the game-winning shots down the stretch in a thrilling affair, but man, that final drawn-up play from the Indiana Pacers to free up Tyrese Haliburton was phenomenal to watch.
With only 3.9 seconds left and the Pacers down by three points against the Milwaukee Bucks, an unusual National Football League (NFL) inspired formation was done by Indiana, where all players on the court stormed near the other end’s backcourt and the inbounder was situated in the middle of the floor.
When the game whistle sounded, the players sprinted to their respective spots, with the two guards in the left and right wings of the formation switching places to get to the opposite corner.
Andrew Nembhard then found Haliburton who went off the races in the left corner, generated the shot plus a foul, and steered Indiana to a jaw-dropping 115-114 victory over the Bucks on March 12, 2025.
That may look bizarre and unfamiliar in a basketball game, but that NFL-inspired play drawn up by Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle won them the matchup and was the reason why Haliburton was able to have a decent look from the three-point line.
Unfortunately for Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo committed a foul while Haliburton hoisted the hail mary, leading to a miraculous four-point play that put the Pacers by a point.
The Bucks had the chance to counter back on the other end with 3.4 seconds left but Antetokounmpo’s attempt from downtown missed badly as he air balled his stop-and-pop trey.
Flashback to last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs, it was also the same play that the Pacers attempted when they looked to tie the ball game against the Boston Celtics.
However, the result was different, as Aaron Nesmith missed the opportunity from the right corner that helped the Celtics go up with a 3-0 series advantage in the Conference Finals.
According to an interview with Carlisle several months ago, that NFL slant pick play was integrated by their assistant coach Mike Weinar.
“We’ve had it for a while. We’ve used it a couple times over the last couple years, and gotten looks on it. Same situation happens the next game, we’ll have something a little bit different and hope we get the same kind of look,” said Carlisle.
The Pacers survived a late Milwaukee rampage after leading by as much as 11 points in the second quarter. The Bucks even retook the lead after a Gary Trent Jr. three-pointer, but Haliburton’s heroics were enough to save the day for Indiana.
Haliburton capped off his big performance with a double-double outing of 14 points, 10 assists, three rebounds, and two steals, backstopped by Pascal Siakam who led all scorers in the game with 25 markers, 12 boards, and five dimes.
