Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard was on the receiving end of a whooping by upstart Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton in the semifinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament Thursday.
Indiana defeated Milwaukee by the score of 128-119 to earn a trip to Saturday’s championship game. For his part, Haliburton outplayed Dame in pretty much every way. He scored 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting, adding seven rebounds and 15 assists. Lillard scored 24 points, but it took 20 shots.
During the game, Haliburton had some fun at Lillard’s expense. He mocked the future Hall of Famer’s popular “Dame Time” celebration after hitting a three-pointer. It brought the crowd inside Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena to their feet.
Indeed. That was cold.
After seeing his dreams of winning the first In-Season NBA Tournament come to an end at the hands of Indiana, Lillard provided a friendly warning to Haliburton.
“I learned as a kid, when you dish it out, you’ve got to be willing to take it. For as many times as I’ve done it to people, I can’t be upset when somebody else does it, you know what I mean. I think that’s also a sign of respect and acknowledgment for knowing my history and knowing what I do. I didn’t mind it. It was what it was,” Lillard on Tyrese Haliburton.
“I’ve also known that, you know, when you are having your moment, it’s important to be careful, to be humble in your moments because you just never know how the tables are going to turn or when they are going to turn.
I respected it. We shook hands after the game. I wasn’t moved by it left or right.”
It’s just some friendly banter between the two. But Lillard has been doing this a lot longer than Haliburton. He knows very well that tables do turn at times within the NBA.
Despite Indiana coming out on top against Milwaukee, the Bucks are seen as one of the top title contenders in the Eastern Conference. One loss in a tournament is not going to change that.
We can also expect Damian Lillard to respond in kind next time Milwaukee and Indiana go at it on New Year’s Day. It will be the first of a back-to-back between these two likely Eastern Conference playoff teams. It will also be a popcorn-worthy time.