Tyrese Haliburton Wows Fans as PG Seals Pacers' Comeback, 2-0 Lead vs. Mitchell, Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to see Tyrese Haliburton in their nightmares.

Despite building a 20-point lead in the second half of Tuesday's Game 2 at Rocket Arena, Cleveland fell apart down the stretch as the Indiana Pacers star seized the moment to propel his team to a 2-0 lead in their second-round series. 

Haliburton hit a free throw to cut the deficit to two with 12.1 seconds remaining, rebounded his own miss on the second attempt and then calmly dribbled back and connected on the winning three-pointer to give his team a 120-119 victory.

That he was playing with an injured wrist that was wrapped up made it all the more impressive, and social media showed plenty of love to the guard:

Haliburton's late-game magic overshadowed an incredible performance from Donovan Mitchell, who put his team on his back with Darius Garland (toe), Evan Mobley (ankle) and De'Andre Hunter (thumb) all sidelined.

Mitchell finished with 48 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals in a performance that included a monster poster dunk over Pascal Siakam and a number of physical drives as he overpowered Indiana's interior defense for much of the game.

Still, the Pacers extended their pressure defense in the fourth quarter and continued to chip away at the deficit with a balanced attack that helped pick up the slack with Haliburton dealing with the wrist issue.

Myles Turner (23 points and eight rebounds) used his size advantage on mismatches with Mobley out, Aaron Nesmith caught fire from deep and Andrew Nembhard facilitated as a ball-handler who provided backcourt support for Haliburton.

Despite so many contributors, it never seemed like the Pacers were actually going to win until the final second. 

Cleveland was the more desperate side right out of the gates after losing Game 1 and built a 32-15 lead through the first quarter. As expected, Mitchell spearheaded the offensive attack, but the defense also set the tone by swarming Haliburton full court, closing on the outside shooters and protecting the rim.

Throw in Max Strus, Jarrett Allen and even Sam Merrill providing important support with elevated roles given the injuries, and the Cavaliers were in full control for the vast majority of the game.

Until they weren't.