INDIANAPOLIS — Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was so excited about Indiana’s improbable overtime rally that he didn’t realize what led to the postgame scuffle between his teammates and the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Then he got to the locker room, watched the replay and winced when he saw his father, John, on the court, confronting two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“I had no idea it happened until I got back to the locker room and they showed me the video of my pops,” the two-time All-Star said after he made the decisive layup with 1.3 seconds left to give Indiana a 119-118 victory and a 4-1 series win.
“We had a little talk about it. I don’t agree with what transpired there. I think basketball is basketball and let’s keep it on the court. I think he just got excited.”
Antetokounmpo wasn’t pleased, either, after his team blew a seven-point lead in the final 40 seconds of overtime, sending the Bucks to their third straight first-round exit. The two-time MVP didn’t recognize John Haliburton, thinking he was just another fan who had run onto the court.
Antetokounmpo said he likes Haliburton, calling him a great competitor, but he said John Haliburton displaying a towel with his son’s image while yelling “this is what we (expletive) do” was wrong.
“I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,” said Antetokounmpo, who finished with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists.
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Haliburton seemed genuinely upset about the incident, promising to reach out to Antetokounmpo before the teams play again.
“I’ll talk to Giannis about it eventually,” said Haliburton, who grew up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. “I don’t think my pops was in the right at all there. It’s unfortunate what happened at the end there.
“It’s unfortunate what happened there (the scuffle), but I think it’s just competition,” he added. “As far as my pops, I don’t agree with what happened there. We’ll have a conversation.”
Antetokounmpo told a story about the Bucks’ 2020-21 championship season, when his mother attended every game from mid-February through the title run. The Greek superstar said his mom wasn’t even sure whether she could come onto the court to hug him at the end of the final game and noted that his family members typically don’t sit courtside.
The Pacers and Bucks have met 20 times over the past two seasons, with the Pacers winning eight 11 playoff games and both postseason series in an increasingly heated rivalry.
