Tyrese Haliburton continued his ascension to superstar status with another nationally televised performance in the In-Season Tournament as he led the Indiana Pacers to another underdog victory with a 128-119 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the semi-finals.
“Yeah, it’s cool,” Haliburton said of being talked about among the upper echelon of NBA players. “It feels like 2K sometimes … but at the end of the day–I’ve spoken on this since the start of the season–I just want to win. We’ve got a lot of guys that want to compete for something and play for something bigger than ourselves.”
Haliburton, who has 53 points, 28 assists, and 0 turnovers in the last two games, is doing all he can in this season to get the Pacers to where they want to go. The In-Season Tournament has served as the perfect trial run to see if this team can compete with the best in the league as they’ve beaten five potential playoff teams while earning their trip to the IST Championship: Celtics, Bucks, Sixers, Cavaliers, and Hawks. Now they have one challenge remaining: LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
“This is the start of that, playing for something real,” Haliburton said of the IST. “We’ve got a chance to win a championship. It doesn’t matter the prize or anything like that. We’ve got a chance to win a championship. So that means a lot to us, and we’re not taking that lightly. We’re going to be prepared on Saturday.”
Haliburton has been open about how his Team USA experience this summer reinforced how tired he’s become of losing as they finished 4th.
“USA was kind of the first time I had real expectations to win something in a long time and still didn’t win,” Haliburton told Paul George on Podcast P. “So I’m coming home. I’m looking at myself in mirror. I’m like, ‘You got to change something. Something’s got to change. Maybe it’s not you but it’s you … figure it out.’”
Haliburton said he’s changed his daily approach, put in more time in the weight room which he’s always hated, and is trying to do whatever it takes to help his team win. That extra work has certainly showed up throughout the season as he’s averaging 26.9 points and 12.1 assists per game on 52.5/44.1/88.4 shooting splits but the clutch moments in the first quarter of the season have spotlighted his desire to win.
“Tyrese is certainly our leader, no question about that. I thought he was spectacular,” Rick Carlisle said after the win over the Bucks. “27 and 15 these days are kind of like average numbers for him, but he drove the bus when the game counted, particularly down the stretch. He’s a great closer. He’s becoming an even better closer.”
This season Haliburton has been nearly unstoppable in the clutch, which the NBA defines as when the score is within five points with less than five minutes remaining. In 11 clutch games, the Pacers budding star is shooting a ridiculous 69.6% overall (16 of 23), 72.7% from 3 (8 of 11), and has made all 11 of his free throw attempts. The Pacers have outscored opponents by 30 in his clutch minutes this season.
He hit 3 consecutive 3-pointers against the Cleveland Cavaliers late in the fourth quarter. In a 3 that barely missed the clutch definition, he iced the Group Play game against the 76ers with a stepback 3. He hit a 3-pointer to give the Pacers the lead with 1:28 left in the first game against the Bucks. He hit two 3-pointers late against the Celtics including the incredible 4-point play with the game tied with 1:33 left.
“We know Ty’s going to hit those,” Obi Toppin said after his latest addition to clinch the semi-finals win. “He’s done it every game so far. He’s a really good player especially late in game, a clutch player. … I love playing with him.”
Haliburton hit another step-back triple against the Bucks that sealed the win and then announced to the world that it was his time with Lillard’s “Dame Time” celebration.
“I think it was just in the heat of the moment, having fun,” Haliburton said. “I kind of pounded my chest and said, ‘it’s my time,’ but I think really looking at it, it’s our time. It’s our time as a group. We’re playing the right way and shocking the world.”
It would only be fitting if Haliburton and the Pacers can find a way to beat LeBron and the Lakers for the first NBA Cup after so many defeats in playoff series against him throughout the 2010s. They’ll have that chance on Saturday night.
“Individual success is nothing at this point. I just want to win,” Haliburton said after a loss against the Heat where he scored a career high 44 points. “I’m tired of being a loser.”
Carlisle called the Pacers disruptors with a lot of people not wanting them to make it to Las Vegas and described their approach to the tournament and the season in general as coming out “guns blazing” but they’ve also got bigger dreams beyond their great challenge on Saturday.
“We’re looking to get better. We have a goal. We have a dream as an organization to be an NBA championship organization,” Carlisle said. “They won three ABA titles, and that’s a big deal. Winning an NBA title is a dream that’s reachable, but it’s got to be a dream where people can focus on how it’s reachable, and we’re showing signs of that. We’re not there yet. We’re showing signs, and we’re a dangerous team.”
Haliburton is doing his part on the court to further the Pacers chances of accomplishing that goal but he’s also doing everything he can off the court to recruit other star players to come and play with him in Indiana, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
With Haliburton on the Pacers side, anything is possible.
iPacers - Indiana Pacers News 
2000. 2012. 2013. 2014. 2017. 2018.
They can all be revenged on Saturday night. And maybe for the first time out of any of those, I am actually optimistic. Hali-lujah indeed.
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Praise the Point God!
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