Tyrese Haliburton silenced all doubters as he inspired the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Pacers secured a 114-105 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 to eliminate the top-seeded team from the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday night.
Haliburton, labelled ‘overrated’ by rival Cavs fans through the series, finished with 31 points, six rebounds and eight assists to lead Indiana.
The 25-year-old’s girlfriend, Jade Jones, shared a five-word message for his haters post-game.
“PUT SOME RESPECT ON US,” she wrote, re-posting a graphic on her Instagram story that featured Haliburton and two of his teammates.
Jones was not the only one who praised Haliburton following Indiana’s dominant series win over Cleveland.
Taking to X, four-time NBA Champion LeBron James – who played alongside Haliburton for Team USA at the Olympics in Paris, suggested his critics are now ‘quiet as hell’.
He wrote: “Hali fkn hooping!!!!
“Where the lames who said he was overrated??!! Quiet as hell.
“That boy NICE and even more someone everyone would love to play with!”
The Pacers’ 114-105 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 5 on Tuesday night was similar to the first two games of the semifinal series.
Cleveland once again jumped out to a big first-half lead, but Indiana’s quick tempo eventually took a toll.
The Pacers rallied from a 19-point deficit, and took control after halftime.
Pascal Siakam added 21 points to Haliburton’s effort, as the team reached the conference finals in consecutive years for the first time since 2013 and 2014.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 35 points, and Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds, but Cavs were still unable to contend with the Pacers.
“It’s a special feeling,” Haliburton, whose dad issued remorseful apology after ‘disrespecting’ Giannis earlier in the playoffs, said post-game.
“I’m not going to sit here and talk like I’ve got so many years of experience – I’m in my fifth year – but something I’ve learned from my vets and being in the NBA for some time is to not take winning for granted.
“It’s a special time, back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals, but we’re not done. We’ve still got ways to go.
“This group is special, it’s been built by many different moves… I don’t take this for granted, it’s a lot of fun.”
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle also summed up his team’s knockout blow against the Cavs with a simple statement.
“The winning team writes the script,” he said.
“I have to give our guys credit, they earned this.
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“This was one of the best teams in the league. I’m sorry their season had to end like this.
“They had the perfect season, and we came along and were hot at the right time.”
Indiana will face either the New York Knicks or the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. The series could begin as early as Monday, May 19.
Haliburton has proved ‘idiots’ wrong to become biggest star of NBA playoffs.
