Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton stole the show on Thursday night with his amazing late-game heroics against the Milwaukee Bucks. The All-Star point guard turned in an all-time performance in arguably the most important game of his career thus far.
Thanks to his clutch performance, Haliburton has now led the Pacers to the Finals of the NBA In-Season Tournament on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, who blew out the New Orleans Pelicans in the West semis.
Tyrese Haliburton Goes Full Savage on Milwaukee Bucks
Haliburton stuck the dagger to Milwaukee’s heart with 48.0 seconds remaining in the final quarter. This came via a clutch triple to give the Pacers an eight-point lead with less than a minute remaining in the game. They would go on to secure the win, 128-119.
Haliburton also took a page out of Damian Lillard’s book by busting out the Dame Time celly after hitting one of the biggest shots of his fledgling career:
"SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASHHHH. The bench erupts."
Mark Boyle's call of Tyrese Haliburton's dagger 📻 pic.twitter.com/6XAyMypAsK
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 8, 2023
After the final buzzer, Haliburton explained his motivation behind the Dame Time celly. According to the All-Star guard, he did it for his squad:
“Not mine, it’s ours for the taking,” he said. “You know, we’re not supposed to be here. Expectations aren’t there. We keep shocking the world.”
When asked what he meant about shocking the world, Haliburton sent a special message to anyone and everyone who still has their doubts on the Pacers:
“We’re fun, were energetic,” Haliburton said. “I just want to prove that it’s not a fluke. We can do this every night as long as we get enough stops. We’re really hard to guard. We just gotta figure it out.”
"Not mine, it's ours for the taking… We keep shocking the world… were fun, were energetic, I just want to prove that it's not a fluke."
Tyrese Haliburton on his "Dame Time" celebration pic.twitter.com/KJKYy7N8sB
— Oh no he didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) December 8, 2023
The Pacers did figure it out on Thursday and they have now sent Milwaukee packing.
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