Unfathomable final sequence sees Pacers steal game two as top-seeded Cavs left speechless
Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers have stolen game two of their NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, breaking their backs with an unbelievable final-second play.
The Cavs led the whole way, boasting a 20-point lead in the second quarter, and had a five-point lead with 35 seconds remaining.
It was thanks to a super-human effort from star guard Donovan Mitchell, who scored 48 points in the absence of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
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Tyrese Haliburton's game winning step back three NBAE via Getty Images
With the shot clock off and Cleveland leading by three, Haliburton drove in - opting not to take a three to tie the game - and was fouled by Mitchell, sending him to the free throw line.
From there, the Pacers needed a perfect sequence of events to unfold. He had to make the first free throw, miss the second one, they needed to grab the rebound, take the ball outside of the perimeter and hit a game-winning three, all in the final 12.4 seconds.
And that's exactly what Haliburton managed, grabbing a tipped rebound thrashing his way backwards outside the three-point arc and hitting an unbelievable step back dagger over Cavs guard Ty Jerome, with 1.3 seconds to spare.
The air was sucked out of the building in Cleveland, with the number one seed now finding themselves down 0-2 in the series, and with key players Garland, Mobley and DeAndre Hunter all injured.
The Cavaliers had the second best record in the NBA this season, winning 64 games and finishing first in the Eastern Conference, but now must win four of their next five games, including three in Indiana, to keep themselves alive.
X absolutely exploded following the result.
Haliburton hit the game-winner, but had been quiet otherwise, finishing with 19 points and dealing with a sore wrist throughout the game.
Both teams will have the chance to catch their breath before the series flips to Indiana for game three on Saturday.
