On Thursday night, the Indiana Pacers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers and have now officially secured homecourt advantage for the first time since 2020. They are only one game behind the New York Knicks in the standings, so the No. 3 seed is still up for grabs for them. Regardless, the Pacers achieved an incredible milestone and now have an even better chance to go on a deep playoff run later this year.
In the victory, Tyrese Haliburton recorded 23 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, nearly putting up a triple-double. However, the Wisconsin native filled up the stat sheet in one specific category that fans may not have expected from him. After the game, Haliburton spoke about this accomplishment in a way that only he can.
Tyrese Haliburton had a solid performance against the Cavaliers
Arguably, the most interesting stat of Haliburton's night was the three blocks he recorded. This was just the third time all season he recorded three blocks in a game, including his second within the last week.
Though Haliburton possesses solid size as a 6-foot-5 point guard, he is not known as a shot-blocker. His career-high in blocks in a game is 4, which he accomplished once back when he was with the Sacramento Kings. Still, the Pacers guard achieved a unique feat that fans should be happy about.
In his post-game press conference, Haliburton responded to Pacers beat writer Alex Golden regarding his three-block performance and jokingly said he is the fifth-best shot blocker in franchise history.
“I appreciate that Alex, thank you for recognizing that…so it goes: Myles Turner, Rik Smits, Jermaine O’Neal, Roy Hibbert, Tyrese Haliburton. That’s how it’s gonna end when I’m done here…but in my mindset, I’m the 5th best shot blocker in franchise history and you can’t tell me different," Haliburton said.
Haliburton is referring to the Pacers' all-time blocks leaders, where teammate Myles Turner stands alone at the top. For some additional context, Haliburton has 137 career blocks as a Pacer, which is tied for 31st all-time with Brandon Rush. Furthermore, Haliburton has the third-most blocks between active Pacers as Turner and Isaiah Jackson are both ahead of him on the list.
It is clear that Haliburton was simply joking around (and there is no world that exists where he is one of the Pacers' best shot blockers in history), but it is still an impressive accomplishment regardless. Haliburton is not known for his defense, so this is an even bigger shock than it otherwise would be. With the playoffs approaching, it will be important for Haliburton to continue this trend as he and the Pacers will soon go up against some of the best teams in the league.