tyrese haliburton pacers
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Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers will play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton had a message for doubters after a 125-108 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals over the New York Knicks sent Indiana to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2001.
“This is a really special group and I’m really thankful for these guys. I’m thankful that our front office believed in this group to keep us together to not do a crazy roster turnover, to keep this group together and see something in ourselves that maybe the quote-unquote experts didn’t see,” Haliburton told reporters at his post game press conference. “It’s really special, but we understand we’ve got a long road ahead. It’s just a special feeling.”
Haliburton, who had 21 points, 13 assists and 6 rebounds in the Game 6 win, added, “I think there’s a lot more work to do and let’s just keep creating memories.”
Tyrese Haliburton Said It Was a ‘Bumpy Road’ to Get to the NBA Finals
Haliburton said about the Pacers path to the NBA Finals a year after losing in the Eastern Conference Finals, “It’s a special feeling to do it with this group. … We just worked our tails off as a group to get back here. It’s been a bumpy road with our start. … We’ve been through so many things this year and we just kept pushing and I’m just really proud of this group.”
Haliburton also talked about Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam, who had a game-high 31 points in the Game 6 win.
“When we brought him here we envisioned doing something like this, doing something special,” Haliburton told reporters. “He’s been like a big brother to me, somebody that I can really trust, somebody that I can lean on to talk to and just somebody who can keep me steady.”
Haliburton Said the Pacers Tried to Stay in the Moment & Not Think About the Challenge of Playing the OKC Thunder
Haliburton told reporters after the Game 6 victory that he and his teammates have tried not to think ahead to playing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
“I think human nature when you see them win, it’s easy to watch them win and be like, ‘Ok so we’re going to play next, we’ve just got to win one more game,’ I think that’s the human nature part of it. But I think we just talked as a group about being as present as possible,” Haliburton said. “Because this game could very well have went a different way and then all of the pressure would be on us to go win there in Game 7.”
He said there wasn’t a conversation among the team about playing the Thunder next.
“Human nature is going to creep in, you’re going to think about it. But I thought we did a great job of living in the moment today,” Haliburton said. “I’d be lying if I told you right now my head’s not thinking about what’s next and how we’re going to attack these guys and compete against these guys and what we’re getting into.”
Haliburton said, “We’ve got our work cut out for us. … We’re going to be prepared and we’re going to be ready.”
The NBA Finals will get underway on June 5 in Oklahoma City. The first game is set to tip at 8:30 p.m. on ABC