Just two more: Tyrese Haliburton is a couple wins away from leading the Pacers to their first NBA title

OSHKOSH – Hali. Haliban. HIMaburton.

The Moment.

All the new nicknames are cool, but Tyrese Haliburton probably wants one more moniker: NBA champion.

The Oshkosh kid whose jumper was once too unorthodox is now just two wins away from creating history by leading the Indiana Pacers to the franchise’s first-ever NBA title.

“I am really excited to be a part of the group that brings the team to the finals, but I don’t think I am satisfied by any means just being here,” Haliburton told ESPN’s Malika Andrews in a sit-down interview. “The point is to get here and win.”

Teams winning Game 5 in an NBA Finals tied 2-2 have won the title 74.2% of the time.

The series is tied 2-2 heading back to Oklahoma City Monday night for arguably the most pivotal game of the Finals thus far: 74.2% of teams that win Game 5 in a 2-2 Finals series go on to win the title.

Not that the odds truly mean much for Haliburton and his Pacers.

Indiana has led the heavily favored Thunder twice in this series, 1-0 and 2-1, despite entering the Finals with the longest odds to win the title in NBA history at 66-1.

According to Yahoo Sports, only six teams since 1996 have had better odds to win the NBA title entering the Finals than Oklahoma City (-700).

The Pacers have only been favored to win one of their four postseason series in these NBA playoffs.

It’s been the Pacers’ underdog story for this entire postseason run, where they were only favored in one series — a first-round victory over the rival Milwaukee Bucks.

Not coincidentally, Indiana’s two-time All-NBA guard has come up huge when it matters most, hitting a clutch shot to either tie or take the lead in the last three seconds of regulation of overtime in each of the four series.

Haliburton’s penchant for late-game heroics (he’s made 13 of 15 game-tying or game-winning shots this season) predictably drew a slew of nicknames, from HIMaburton to Haliban.

But the best may have been saved for last, with NBA analyst Richard Jefferson fittingly capturing Haliburton’s Game 1 winner with “The Moment.”

“It’s cool,” Haliburton told Andrews of all the nicknames. “I think every time that you’re able to experience such highs as a basketball player, the commentary changes. There’s always new nicknames, new stories, all these things come out, so it’s a lot of fun.”

The hope is Haliburton has one more moment left in him.

“I hope it doesn’t get [to that point], but if the moment’s there, then I’m always ready,” he joked.

How to watch Tyrese Haliburton for the remainder of the NBA Finals

The 2025 NBA Finals are aired live on ABC while fans can also stream the series on Fubo (offers a free trial) and SlingTV.

Game 5 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. June 16 and the series shifts back to Indiana June 19 for Game 6 at 7:30 p.m.

If needed, Game 7 would be played in Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. June 22.

Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: NBA Finals: Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers 2 away from upsetting Thunder

Just two more: Tyrese Haliburton is a couple wins away from leading the Pacers to their first NBA title

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