Nike Superstar Caitlin Clark in Disbelief as Tyrese Haliburton Launches Puma Shoes with Game Winner

Caitlin Clark is aware that Indiana Pacers star and close friend Tyrese Haliburton is one of the best when it comes to late game situations.

Nike Superstar Caitlin Clark in Disbelief as Tyrese Haliburton Launches Puma Shoes with Game Winner

Caitlin Clark stunned Tyrese Haliburton hit game-winner in his new Puma Hali 1's (Image via FirstSportz)

Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever were not playing on Thursday. Instead, they went through their usual practice and film sessions before ending the day and getting ready to watch Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Fever might have had faith in their men’s team. However, nationwide, that was not the sentiment, as fans and members of the media believed the much stronger Thunder would have their way. Many even expected the West champions to embarrass their Eastern Conference counterparts.

The Thunder were simply too strong, both offensively and defensively. On the other hand, some argued that the Pacers were winning due to their late-game heroics. Three playoff series later, that notion hadn’t changed, and if one watched the first three quarters of Game 1, they would have the same opinion.

At one point, the Pacers trailed by 15 points in the 4th quarter, which had many turning their television sets off. But not Caitlin Clark, who knew how her close friend and his teammates are in the final minutes of a game.

Clark watched as Tyrese Haliburton and his crew staged a stellar scoring run while also defending well on the other end. With just 7 seconds left, the Pacers guard received the ball, dribbled up the court, shook off two defenders, and scored the winning basket. This sequence left the Fever guard shaken, and she took to X to write this:

YOU CANT MAKE IT UP.

Caitlin Clark wrote

Caitlin Clark added a lot of laughing emoticons, presumably to denote how happy she was. It was also for the fact that Tyrese Haliburton did it on the day when he launched his first signature shoe with Puma, the Hali 1.

Puma joins in with Caitlin Clark to share the joy of Tyrese Haliburton’s epic shoe launch

Tyrese Haliburton had hit game-winners, or game-altering shots, in three straight Eastern Conference playoff series. That helped the Indiana Pacers guard’s stardom rise exponentially. That is probably why Puma and the 25-year-old decided Game 1 was the best platform to launch his Hali 1 signature sneakers.

This move was well thought out, as had the Pacers lost Game 1 or the NBA Finals, the launch would have happened when his popularity was at its peak. However, Puma probably did not envision that Haliburton would nail the game-winner on the same day of the sneaker launch.

YOU REALLY CAN’T.

Puma replied to Caitlin Clark

The sports apparel giant decided to reply to Caitlin Clark, adding a bit of a troll to the Nike athlete as a way of announcing itself. Puma cannot take the fight to Nike, but such moves can help them make a mark in a crowded and often one-sided market.

Tyrese Haliburton shouts out his shoes after hitting game-winner

After the game, the Oklahoma City Thunder fans inside Paycom Center were still shell-shocked that their team lost Game 1 despite being up double-digits for much of the game. It must have been hard to digest it, considering the Indiana Pacers were never in the lead until Tyrese Haliburton converted his game-winning shot.

Tyrese Haliburton hitting the game-winner
Tyrese Haliburton hitting the game-winner (Image via David Astramskas/X)

It also happens to be when the Pacers, by their own admission, did not play well. On top of that, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had probably the best game of his playoff run, without resorting to his ‘free-throw merchant’ role. Haliburton, though, summed up why he won his team this game.

It’s gotta be the shoooeeesss.

Tyrese Haliburton wrote on X

This was the perfect follow-up marketing move from the Iowa State star, whose shoe was being criticized on social media for its launch colorway. Not even he envisioned that his first signature shoe would get a better launch platform than today.

Also Read: