Tyrese Haliburton’s savage clap back at Cavs fans after staging stunning comeback Game 2 win goes viral

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton faced a short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the East playoff semifinals.

Tyrese Haliburton’s savage clap back at Cavs fans after staging stunning comeback Game 2 win goes viral

Tyrese Haliburton clapped back at Cleveland Cavaliers fans (Image via FirstSportz)

Tyrese Haliburton has had quite an eventful playoff series so far. First, he and his Indiana Pacers won the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks. But instead of the win, two other stories dominated that round. One was when anonymous players labeled him ‘the most overrated player’, the other was when his father was involved in a confrontation with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Subsequently, the Pacers decided to ban John Haliburton from future games, both home and away. That meant he went into the semifinals without his biggest supporter cheering for him. But that did not stop him from dominating the short-handed East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers in the first game.

In the second game, a couple of Cavs players saw their names on the injured list. However, the Cavaliers, buoyed by Donovan Mitchell‘s dominating plays, were up by 20 points with 6:50 left in the third quarter. The Pacers tried to reduce the deficit, but could not gain much until late in the fourth quarter.

With just over two minutes to go, Tyrese Haliburton decided to take over with his scoring and playmaking, helping to reduce the deficit to four points. In the final seconds, he missed his second free throw, grabbed the rebound off a tip, dribbled out to the three-point line, stepped back to score to win the game 120-119. After the game, reporters asked if Cavs chanting ‘overrated’ lit the fire inside him.

That was unexpected. I didn’t know we had beef. Good for them. That came outta nowhere. Overrate that.

Tyrese Haliburton said

The Pacers superstar’s answer might be good enough to shut down those Cleveland Cavaliers fans. They were chanting ‘overrated’ to try and antagonize Haliburton, but it ended up backfiring, and now he has the last laugh with his team up 2-0 and going back home.

Donovan Mitchell knew those ‘overrated’ chants were uncalled for

The Cleveland Cavaliers might have one of the best teams in the league this season. They are also favorites to win the NBA title. But every player worth his weight knows that antagonizing an opponent is not a good tactic to use.

When Cavs fans chanted ‘overrated’ at Tyrese Haliburton late in the first half, they did it as their team was up by double digits. They probably believed the team was in a good place to win Game 2, even though two starters and one crucial role player were out.

But Donovan Mitchell probably knew it was both unsportsmanlike and wrong to rile up the opposition’s best player. He waved his arms, trying to get the fans to stop those chants. He knew that an anonymous poll was disrespectful towards both coaches and players.

At the same time, he knew Haliburton took over against the Milwaukee Bucks after that article came out. Therefore, it could work against them, and it probably did as the Pacers guard accounted for 11 of his 19 points in the final 12 minutes.

Tyrese Haliburton now has upper hand in battle against Cavs

This Eastern Conference playoff series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers now heads to Indianapolis for the next two games. That means the same crowd that goes wild whenever Caitlin Clark plays will be there to cheer on Haliburton and his teammates.

Tyrese Haliburton and his Pacers hold the upper hand over Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs
Tyrese Haliburton and his Pacers hold the upper hand over Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs (Image via Bleacher Report/X)

That crowd push might be what the Pacers need to close out this series before it heads back to Cleveland, Ohio. In the series against the Bucks, buoyed by their fans, they won both their home games. Understandably, the Cavaliers are a different monster. But even then, they should have hope.

The momentum is with the Pacers, and all they need to do is keep pace with the East leaders up until the last few minutes of the game. Then Haliburton and his teammates can continue to come up clutch, just like they have for six playoff games.

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