The Indiana Pacers have been one of the NBA’s biggest surprises so far this season.
At 12-6, the Pacers are second in the Central Division and advanced to the finals of the NBA In-Season Tournament Thursday night with a 128-119 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Point guard Tyrese Haliburton led the way for the Pacers with 25 points and 17 assists along with zero turnovers. Haliburton also hit a big three-pointer late in the game to seal the deal for the Pacers and imitated Milwaukee point guard Damian Lillard’s famed ‘Dame Time’ celebration.
Haliburton has been one of the driving forces behind Indiana’s success this season, as he is currently 13th in the NBA in points per game with 26.9 and the league leader in assists per game with an eye-popping 11.9. He also has an impeccable 28-0 assist-to-turnover ratio in his past two games.
Lillard took the imitation in stride but was sure to send Haliburton a message. In the postgame press conference, Lillard said he respected Haliburton doing the celebration but noted to “be humble” because you never know when your moment will end, per FanDuel’s Rob Lopez.
The Bucks and Pacers square off two more times in the next three weeks, on December 13 and January 1, so it will be interesting to see if there’s any fallout next time they meet.
The Pacers will face either the Los Angeles Lakers or New Orleans Pelicans in Saturday night’s championship.
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