"It's not a fluke": Tyrese Haliburton savagely shuts down critics as Pacers make NBA In-Season Tournament finals

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers shocked the NBA world on Thursday, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 128-119 in the NBA In-Season Tournament’s semifinals. The Pacers have been viewed as an underdog throughout the tournament’s knockout rounds. However, according to Haliburton, their success is not a fluke.

Indiana trailed Milwaukee by three points (94-91) after three quarters. The Pacers, led by Haliburton, then outscored the Bucks 37-25 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Haliburton finished with a team-high 27 points, seven rebounds, 15 assists and three 3-pointers on 57.9% shooting. After the big win, the All-Star spoke about how Indiana keeps proving everyone wrong.

“It’s ours for the taking,” Haliburton said. “We’re not supposed to be here. Expectations aren’t there. We just keep shocking the world.”

He added that the Pacers are a legitimate league-wide threat on a nightly basis.

“We’re fun, we’re energetic, I just want to prove that it's not a fluke,” Haliburton said. “We can do this every night. As long as we get enough stops, we’re really hard to guard.”

With their tournament success, the Pacers continue to establish themselves as one of the league’s top up-and-coming teams. Meanwhile, Haliburton is positioned as one of the favorites to take home the inaugural In-Season Tournament MVP award.

Through six tournament games, Haliburton is averaging 27.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 4.8 3-pointers per game on 51.8% shooting.

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Tyrese Haliburton credits Indiana’s bench for NBA In-Season Tournament semifinal victory

Following Thursday’s game, Tyrese Haliburton also credited the Pacers’ bench for their upset victory over the Bucks.

Indiana recorded 43 bench points, led by big man Isaiah Jackson, while Milwaukee had just 13, a 30-point disparity.

“I know a lot of people don’t watch us play all the time, but we truly have one of the best benches in the NBA, if not the best bench in the NBA,” Haliburton said.

“We’re a really deep team with a lot of different guys who can contribute. I’m sure we’ve got a lot of guys that people aren’t really familiar with, but they’ll be familiar all too soon, for sure.”

The Pacers now advance to Saturday’s championship game where they will take on the LA Lakers.

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