‘Just don’t let him touch it’

MANILA, Philippines -- Sooner or later, Tyrese Haliburton will miss.

But if opposing teams are waiting for that moment to come naturally, they’re already too late.

What they must do – especially when the game hits its dying seconds – is make sure the ball never touches his hands. Because if it does, there’s a growing body count of crushed contenders who can tell you exactly how that story ends.

He did it against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs last April 29. Down by seven with 34.6 seconds left in overtime. Game seemingly over.

Then Haliburton took over.

He carved through the defense and finished a cold-blooded layup with 1.4 seconds left to complete an improbable rally.

Indiana prevailed, 119-118, and the Pacers moved into the next round.

Ranged against the Eastern Conference-best Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 last May 6, Indiana trailed by seven again with just 48 seconds left.

Then Haliburton launched a dagger from deep – a go-ahead triple with 1.1 seconds remaining and the Pacers snatched a 120-119 squeaker. Another improbable escape and they advanced again.

Against the favored New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden last May 21, the Pacers were down, 112-121, with 51.1 seconds left – a margin that might as well have been a mountain.

But Haliburton dragged them back, hit a last-gasp jumper at the buzzer to tie the game and force overtime.

Replay showed his foot barely grazed the 3-point arc. It should have been a walk-off game-winner.

No matter.

Indiana demolished New York in the extra period.

Knicks fans were so enraged they threw garbage at a Pacers supporter in the stands.

He didn’t flinch. Neither did Haliburton.

The Pacers closed out the Knicks in 6 – and barged into the Finals.

And just last Thursday – against the most fancied, most feared team in the NBA, the Oklahoma Thunder – the previously overrated Haliburton delivered another thriller of a game-winner.

The Thunder were in control, leading by 15 with 10 minutes to play.

Then came the unraveling. And again, Haliburton was the thread-puller.

In the game’s final sequence, with chaos swirling, Haliburton didn’t panic.

He paused, shook his defender with a subtle stop, stepped into space and drained the game-winner.

Indiana stole Game 1 – and homecourt – in a heartbreaker.

"That’s just one game," said Haliburton afterward, brushing off the moment with veteran poise.

"This is the best team in the NBA. They don’t lose often. We expect them to respond. We’ve got to be ready," he added.

In the final heartbeat of games, Haliburton has been perfect – 4-for-4 in the closing two seconds of fourth quarters and overtimes, each shot a dagger that either sealed victory or demanded another chance to win.

But the league is learning.

This isn’t a fluke. This isn’t a hot streak.

This is Haliburton rewriting how close games are decided.

And unless teams find a way to shut him down when it matters most, Indiana might just keep rewriting history – one miracle at a time.

The solution?

Forget game plans, forget switches, forget analytics.

Just don’t let him touch the ball.

Because when he does, it’s game over.

Literally.