Emotions were high at the end of the Pacers vs. Bucks game Tuesday night, and not just between players on the court. Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton hit a game-winning layup with 1.1 seconds left in overtime to lift the Pacers to a 119-118 series-clinching win over the Bucks.
Afterwards, his father John Haliburton got in the face of Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the two went nose-to-nose before being separated.
Tyrese Haliburton addressed the incident after the game, stating that his father was in the wrong. He added that he let his dad know that his behavior was unacceptable.
“You know, as far as the incident between Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and my pops, I had no idea it happened until I got to the back and was showed the video. Me and my pops have talked about that and I don’t agree with, you know, what transpired there from him,“ Tyrese Haliburton said. ”I think basketball is basketball and let’s keep it on the court.
“I think he just got excited, saw his son make a game-winner and came on the court. But I think we had a conversation and I think he needs to just allow me to play basketball, stay over there. I’ll come to him to celebrate.”
The Pacers trailed by 7 with 40 seconds left in overtime before ending the game on an 8-0 run. The win lifted the Pacers to a 4-1 victory in the series.
Haliburton believes that his dad got caught up in the moment after a tough, emotional series. Still, he did not excuse his father’s behavior.
“I talked with him, I’ll talk with Giannis eventually about it. I don’t think that my pops was in the right at all there and unfortunate what happened at the end there,” Haliburton said.
“This series was a lot of war of words, a lot of war of antics, a lot of stuff going back and forth. And that’s just part of this rivalry and what we’ve built here over the last couple of years. It’s unfortunate what happened there, but I think it’s just competition and as far as my pops, again, I don’t agree with what happened there. We’ll have a conversation. Everybody’s grown men and we’ll just go from there.”
With the win, the Pacers advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Meanwhile the Bucks and Antetokounmpo had their season end in the first round for the third straight year.
