He’s done it again! This time at the biggest stage of them all. Tyrese Haliburton just keeps proving why everyone was wrong to call him “overrated.” Tonight, the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder began their clash in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. And the Pacers were able to draw first blood thanks to Hali’s heroics that left even Shaquille O’Neal stunned. And after his game, Tyrese himself had a cheeky reaction to his game-winner.

For most of the game tonight, the Pacers trailed the Thunder. But as the game went longer, the Pacers scratched and clawed their way back. Soon, they found themselves trailing the Thunder by only a single point in the final minute. And the game seemed over as neither team could score a bucket as the seconds wound down. But that’s when Tyrese Haliburton happened!

He pulled up, 21 feet away from the basket, and made a clutch jumper to win the game with 0.3 seconds left on the clock! The Thunder called a timeout immediately, but it was futile. And as the shot went in, Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal, sitting courtside, looked just as stunned as the rest of the sold-out crowd in Oklahoma City. As the arena erupted—or fell silent—in collective disbelief, cameras caught Shaq glancing around, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, struggling to process what had just unfolded on the court.

And if Shaq’s surprise was evident in his reaction to Hali’s incredible clutch shot, his comments after the game cemented it. “Nobody expected this, I did not expect this. I thought it should’ve been a blowout. Indiana did not play well at all,” he said of how he thought the game was going to go. Shaq thought Tyrese was a “little too passive” but still gave him credit. “I like people that step up to the challenge,” he said about the Pacers’ point guard.

With yet another game-winner tonight, Tyrese is quickly showing us all why he’s among the most clutch players. Previously, he hit the Reggie Miller choke celly after what he thought was a game-winner against the Knicks. He actually ended up forcing overtime, but there’s no denying that he was clutch in that game. Before that, Game 2 in the Cleveland Cavaliers series saw Hali hit a step-back three to send the Cavs in a 2-0 hole.

What we’re getting at here is that Shaq shouldn’t have been surprised at all by Hali’s heroics tonight. After all, it’s what he’s been doing all postseason. And the Pacers’ guard’s reaction after the game just showed how this was not that big a deal to him.

Tyrese Haliburton has a demure response to hitting game-winner in Game 1 of NBA Finals

Trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder by 15 points would be a veritable death sentence for any team. However, tonight, the Pacers and Tyrese Haliburton showed exactly why they’re in the NBA Finals this season. Not only did they mount an incredible 15-point comeback, but they did it in style. And Tyrese’s reaction to his own clutch play just capped off this incredible win for the Indiana Pacers.

“Man, basketball is fun. Winning is fun,” said the Pacers point guard. And even though his team trailed in the game for a good while, Tyrese did look to have fun as he showed a massive improvement in one area of his game tonight — rebounding. The 25-year-old had a double-double tonight with 14 points and 10 boards.

This is now the second time in the postseason that Tyrese Haliburton has grabbed double-digit boards for his team. And considering the number of turnovers his team had, these boards went a long way in keeping them afloat tonight. Even so, his game-winner will be the highlight that he and everyone else take away from tonight’s game.

All in all, this Pacers comeback win has made this NBA Finals infinitely more exciting. They’ve forced the Thunder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to dig deeper and try to level the series on Sunday in Game 2. And we can’t wait to find out how they respond!