Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is a happy man right now. Haliburton helped lift his team to not one, but two wins at Madison Square Garden over the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.

Haliburton had a strong message following his club's second consecutive victory in the series Friday.

“I think after you take a game like Game 1, you understand that they're gonna come into the game probably a little frustrated,” Haliburton said postgame, per the NBA on TNT program. “They probably don't feel like they should've lost Game 1, feel like they gave it away. So we knew they were gonna amp up the physicality and play with some pace.

“I think the biggest thing for us as a group was don't wait for them to throw the first punch, we'll throw the first punch and roll from there, and I thought we did a good job of that.”

Haliburton posted a double-double, with 14 points and 11 assists in Game 2. The Pacers now have control of this series with a 2-0 lead.

The Pacers are closing in on the NBA Finals

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) controls the ball against New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) in overtime during game one of the eastern conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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Haliburton has proved invaluable to the Pacers franchise, and he proved that yet again in the Eastern Conference final's first two contests. Indiana is now just two wins away from making the NBA Finals.

The Pacers star came up with a clutch shot in Game 1 of the series, to tie the game and send it to overtime. Indiana then went on to win that contest.

In Game 2, Haliburton wasn't hitting as many of his shots. He finished the contest shooting just 5-for-16 from the field. Haliburton made up for that by finding his teammates. It was Pascal Siakam who stepped up in Game 2. He finished the contest with 39 points.

The Knicks are now on the ropes as the series shifts to Indiana.

“There are a lot of traps here. You cannot assume going home is gonna be easier, it never is,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, per The Score. “Each game as you ascend in a playoff series becomes harder, and New York's got an amazing fighting spirit. We're gonna have to keep concentrating on our process, making it hard on them, trying to keep tempo in the game.”

Game 3 of the Knicks-Pacers series is on Sunday.