Damian Lillard responds to Tyrese Haliburton mocking him in Pacers' win over Bucks
By Mueez Azfar
The Indiana Pacers have just beat the Milwaukee Bucks to advance to the In-Season Tournament finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, and fans cannot stop talking about one moment in particular.
Tyrese Haliburton had a fantastic night as usual, scoring 27 points and dishing out 15 assists while having zero turnovers, an incredible feat for the young point guard who has put the NBA and Vegas world on notice with his performance against the NBA's elite.
However, there was one moment from Haliburton that is easily the most memorable moment of the game and that people cannot stop talking about.
With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter and having just hit the game-sealing three to put Indiana up by eight points, Haliburton pointed to his wrist in a gesture aimed at mocking Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard. Haliburton could even be heard saying, "I know what time it is," in reference to Lillard's iconic "Dame Time" celebration that he has brought out on multiple occasions.
While Haliburton has been known to celebrate big plays on occasion, most notably with a skipping motion, this was perhaps his boldest move yet, openly mocking an established superstar on national television, the biggest stage of his young career up to this point.
Clearly, reporters were not going to let this slide slide, so they asked Lillard for his thoughts on Haliburton's celebration after the game.
Lillard, who struggled for the majority of the game, only having 4 points on 2/10 shooting after the first half and scoring 24 points on 7/20 shooting for the entire game, certainly provided an answer, praising the young star and showing respect, but providing some key advice for Haliburton to remain humble during his big moments, due to not knowing when they could end.
While it is clear that Lillard did not exactly appreciate this open mockery, his response was still respectable and the fact that he even gave some advice to Haliburton showed that he respected the youngster enough to pass some knowledge onto him.