Indianapolis (AP) - Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton starts this season to calm down anyone who thinks last year's Eastern Conference final will suffer the fl luck.
Now that the Pacers are back, Halliburton and his teammates have a new goal: to prove to themselves that they have always been a great performance for these pacemakers.
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“You heard (Boston coach) Joe Mazzulla say Indiana is our toughest opponent this year,” Haliburton said after Friday’s practice. "In a sense, this is similar to a meme, like an participation award. But I think it's the most respect that the person you end up competing with can get."
Indiana should have caught everyone’s attention before this playoff starts.
Of course, the Celtics beat last year's playoffs with a tough Haliburton in their final two games to win the NBA title. But it is not easy.
Boston needed to make a late turnover from Haliburton to work overtime in Game 1, while Haliburton, another key in overtime, won 133-128. Even without Halliburton, Boston won two three-pointers from Indianapolis.
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But at that moment, the walkers were already considering taking the next big step.
"Once we lost to Boston last year," said swingman Aaron Nesmith, when asked to point out the moment he knew Indiana could have a second straight session final. "Everyone has the right mindset, and I think we all use it as fuel for summer. Everyone thinks we should be in this place and now we're ready to take advantage of it."
The series, especially the end of Game 1, offers Indiana some key lessons for the next opportunity - cherish the opportunity to come, browse the last buzzer and get nothing.
It puts everything the Pacers face this season — early injuries, Halliburton’s slow start and rugged and 10-15 points, skeptics talk about Indiana’s “good luck” again, facing two teams injured in the last year’s playoffs.
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That's when the walkers show resilience.
They have made their fourth seed in the East with a 48-19 record since December 13 and have gained a home advantage in the first round for the first time since 2013-14.
This run is more impressive than the previous one. They swept three home games in five games by knocking out 2021 NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo and fifth seed Milwaukee. They also beat Donovan Mitchell and top seed Cleveland in five games by sweeping out three road games.
They did it in a way that seemed incredible a year ago. The Pacers did this with a tough, physical basketball attitude, never backed off the challenge and even turned their often criticized defense into strength.
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As a result, Indiana removed 20 points in Game 2 of Cleveland and 19 points in the Cavaliers’ decisive Game 5 at home, thanks in large part to Halliburton’s three-point shooting percentage and allowed Indiana to earn its second NBA final in franchise history.
Haliburton also played two big comebacks.
He finished Milwaukee's season with a last-second layup in Game 5 overtime, leaving Cleveland on a 2-0 hole after grabbing the free throw he missed and knocking it down. The two baskets were eight days apart, and in the seven-seventh basket in the last 40 seconds, the two Pacers dropped seven points in the last 40 seconds, one in the first 40 seconds - only happened once in the last game, which was returned in the 1,6433333333.
Their resilience makes it confident that anything is possible, and that might not have happened without last year’s roller coaster playoffs.
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"We've been in hostile games, we've been on the road and have to find ways to win," said three-time All-Star Pascal Siakam. "We've lost, we've gotten up, we've seen the highest level. But you still have to go through it. It doesn't mean you're not affected by (loss), but I think we have better experience because we've seen it before."
Next is a rematch with the New York Knicks. Indiana eliminated New York in Game 7 of Madison Square Garden last May.
This is not the same pedestrian team that found themselves facing a 1-0 deficit in three series last year. These pacemakers won four consecutive games while leading, and these pacemakers think they are far from finished.
“We have a lot of games where you can take screenshots at any time, like ‘How do they win this game?’” Halliburton said after Cleveland’s second game. "We just figured out how to win. We didn't give up, our battle was tested."
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