Tyrese Haliburton’s premature celebration could’ve blown up big time

His buzzer-beater was cool, his celebration was not… or was it?

You have surely seen the image by now: The Indiana Pacers made it to the 2025 NBA Finals thanks in part to Tyrese Haliburton’s comeback-punctuating, buzzer-beating, high-off-the-rim-bouncing, game-tying-but-it-looked-like-it-was-game-winning shot in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks. Immediately after the shot, Haliburton wrapped both hands around his neck and acted like he was choking, a reference to Reggie Miller’s similar move decades prior – same teams, same venue, same pain for New York (although let it be known the Knicks did in fact win that series, so…).

There’s a lot to talk about here. Is it cool to do a referential celebration? Does it matter that the shot hit rim? Does it matter that the shot actually sent the game to overtime instead of winning it outright? What is the ideal way to celebrate a buzzer-beater? And what’s your favorite playoff celebration on record?

This episode of Reframe is about the RIGHT way to tell the world you just hit a huge shot.