Tyrese Haliburton couldn't hold back his delight after leading the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana beat the New York Knicks in Game 7 to complete their epic series comeback that saw them fall to a 2-0 deficit.
Following the win, Haliburton was captured on camera shouting in joy as he headed to the Pacers' locker room. His smile was clear, unable to hide his happiness over their incredible achievement. No one had Indiana making it to the East Finals, but they proved their doubters wrong by playing consistent basketball. Not to mention that they were able to stay healthy and show their depth throughout.
“Come on, yes, yes!” Haliburton shouted.
Tyrese Haliburton has every reason to be happy. While he has largely struggled during the series, he played his best game on Sunday to ensure that it's the Pacers who are moving on to the next round.
The All-Star guard finished with a team-high 26 points along with four rebounds and six assists. He also had one steal and block and turned the ball over just twice. Furthermore, Haliburton had the best plus-minus in the game at +21, which speaks volumes of how impactful he was in the game.
Without him, it's unknown if the Pacers would be able to blow out the Knicks like they did in their 130-199 victory.
Pacers make history vs. Knicks
Aside from Tyrese Haliburton's sensational play, one of the biggest factors in the Pacers' win is their hot shooting. Indiana caught fire from beyond the arc and just couldn't be stopped by the shorthanded Knicks.
The Pacers recorded a 67.1 percent shooting clip from the field, which is an NBA Playoff record. In the first half of the contest, Indiana actually went 29-of-38 from deep, which is a shooting percentage of 76.3 percent. That is also the highest in the playoffs in the play-by-play era which started in 1997-98.
“We have a historic offense obviously, but this guy got things rolling and everybody kind of just followed suit,” Myles Turner said while of Haliburton who led the charge for the Pacers, per Yahoo Sports.
“To do that on the road here in the Garden in Game 7 obviously is phenomenal, but I think this is what we’ve been doing all season long and we were able to show it on the biggest stage.”
Rick Carlisle, for his part, couldn't be more proud of his team's performance, especially with the fact that they did it in a hostile and historic stage like Madison Square Garden.
“I just told our team when you win a Game 7 in Madison Square Garden, you’ve made history,” Carlisle shared.
Of course the job is far from over for the Pacers. A daunting challenge awaits them in the East Finals as they face the top-seeded Boston Celtics. For now, however, they can cherish and enjoy the moment before shifting their focus. They deserve as much after putting up a valiant fight against a fiery team like the Knicks.
The Pacers' series with the Celtics starts on Tuesday, so they won't really have that much time to celebrate. But hey, maybe the confidence and momentum they got will help them pull off a shocker against Boston.
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