The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a brutal 122-113 loss in their highly-anticipated matchup against Indiana Pacers on Monday night, and it was thanks in large part to another tremendous performance from Indiana superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
The 23-year-old came up big for his team down the stretch, scoring clutch basket after clutch basket to hold off Milwaukee’s attempt to secure a comeback late in the fourth quarter.
Tyrese Haliburton Leaves Milwaukee Bucks Star Damian Lillard in the Dust
Damian Lillard did all he could to try and stop his younger counterpart, but Haliburton simply exposed the Bucks star’s shortcomings on the defensive end. In one particular play with a little over a minute remaining in the game, Haliburton left Lillard in the dust with a simple crossover ahead of what turned out to be a massive three-point play:
Hali floater plus the foul to go up 7 late in the 4Q!
Pacers-Bucks | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/WfH3FJ6tZs pic.twitter.com/tW1UIUMoFs— NBA (@NBA) January 2, 2024
Haliburton drained the floater over the outstretched arms of Brook Lopez, who himself was assessed with a foul. The Pacers All-Star knocked down his bonus free throw to put Indiana ahead by seven points with a minute and 20 seconds remaining on the game clock.
Talk about some clutch heroics from Haliburton.
Damian Lillard Destroyed on Twitter
Simply put, Lillard proved no match to Haliburton on the defensive end, particularly during the above sequence. Dame took his eye off his man, and Haliburton punished him.
The mean streets of Twitter showed no mercy to Lillard after seeing his lackluster attempt to hold down the Pacers star in crunch time:
Truly abysmal defense from Damian Lillard.
Just let Haliburton go right by
— Tapping The Keg Sports (@TappingTheKeg) January 2, 2024
That action right there with Haliburton getting the and 1, that is the Bucks’ problem. They have next to no point of attack defence. Haliburton just dribbled past Lillard as if he didn’t exist, got to his spot and got the bucket.
They ain’t winning anything with this.
— Gautam Karhadkar (@HoopAficionado) January 2, 2024
Dame Lillard is not a serious basketball player pic.twitter.com/V3ww3NX5FU
— sham🫗 (@raisedharmony) January 2, 2024
Tbh I think Haliburton took all the "Lillard is now the best guard in the East" stuff quite personal. Man has been out to ruin Dame's life all season
— jcsantawine (@Israfil_Twitch) January 2, 2024
damian lillard whenever haliburton is his matchup pic.twitter.com/Np4jywesse
— casual c’s enjoyer (@csruinedme) January 2, 2024
Damian Lillard 13 points on 20% FG and getting outplayed by Haliburton once again 🤷🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/TJyUJCjbWF
— 𝙍𝘿 (@NorthSidePace) January 2, 2024
HALIBURTON owns Dame Lillard
— Maine 1 (@KellRaw60) January 2, 2024
Tyrese Haliburton to Damian Lillard pic.twitter.com/uJhiX9tm6S
— chris (@KansasCityChr1s) January 2, 2024
To make matters worse for Dame, he finished the game with 13 points on 3-of-16 shooting, including 1-of-9 from beyond the arc. Haliburton, on the other hand, led the Pacers with a team-high 26 points, with nine rebounds, 11 and assists.
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