Tyrese Haliburton Says Pacers Will Handle Playoff Pressure For One Big Reason

Jeremy Hanna | Apr 24, 2025

Apr 19, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) and guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrate in the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Last year, the Indiana Pacers shocked the world by making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals despite only being the sixth seed, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Knicks in the process.

Now, Indiana is looking to prove that their success wasn't a fluke. So far, they have done so with two sound victories over the Bucks. Now, they are leading the series 2-0, and point guard Tyrese Haliburton believes that it's because the team plays well in clutch situations.

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"That's a part of our resilience and a part of the last month or two, playing in some crazy-(expletive) games and having to win in many different ways," Haliburton said, per Dustin Dopirak of Indy Star. "It's about just figuring it out. We're up 2-0, so we'll take it."

This was the case in Indiana's second game with Milwaukee. At one point, the Bucks had narrowed the lead to only two points. Fortunately, power forward Pascal Siakam was able to make a 3-pointer to create some room.

"Down the stretch, they threw a hellacious punch to get it to two," head coach Rick Carlisle said. "Pascal hit as big a shot as you're ever going to see in the playoffs on the right wing. We were able to survive."

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Siakam and Haliburton were easily the stand out players in Game 2. Siakam recorded 24 points, 11 total rebounds, and three assists, while Haiburton had 21 points 12 assists, and five total rebounds.

Indiana's other three starters really stepped to the plate as well. Shooting guard Andrew Nembhard had 17 points, six assists, and three total rebounds, small forward Aaron Nesmith recorded 16 points, two assists, and two total rebounds, and center Myles Turner had 15 points, two total rebounds, and one assist.

Needless to say, the Indiana Pacers are proving that they can step up in a major way against a team that constantly proves to be one of the toughest in the league.

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To read more news and notes about the Indiana Pacers, head on over to Indiana Pacers on SI.