“Saw Dwyane Wade get fouled and knew I was going to f**k him up”: How Udonis Haslem had his Heat star’s back by hitting Tyler Hansbrough in the face

Udonis Haslem broke down how he decided to ‘f*** Tyler Hansbrough up’ after seeing him foul Dwyane Wade unnecessarily hard. 

The Miami Heat had a recurring foe in the 2012 and ‘13 Playoffs that was much ahead of their schedule. The Indiana Pacers, led by a third year Paul George, were a force to be reckoned with, resulting in Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem’s Heat duking it out in 13 games in the postseason that spanned over two separate seasons. 

Thought the Miami Heat won both series and eventually won the championship both those years, they didn’t leave their Pacers series unscathed. While the 2013 series was grittier, the 2012 series was undoubtedly more physical. Dwyane Wade getting hurt was a large proponent of this, according to UD.

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To break down the specific moment Haslem realized that he wasn’t going to hold back against the Pacers center, he sat down with Duncan Robinson to chop it up on his ‘Long Shot’ podcast. 

Udonis Haslem talks about getting physical with Tyler Hansbrough after the latter fouled Dwyane Wade. 

The Indiana Pacers got out to a quick 2-1 series lead against the Miami Heat in the 2012 Eastern Conference SemiFinals. Game 4 saw the Heat handle business away from Miami and with the stage set for a pivotal Game 5 at home, Udonis Haslem had one of the most physical fouls the modern NBA has seen. 

According to UD, he saw Tyler Hansbrough high-five his teammate after an egregiously hard foul on Dwayne Wade a play earlier. So, in retaliation, he told Coach Spo that somewhere down the line, he was going to get back at Tyler. Well, as evident by what took place next, he did.

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It should be noted that Udonis Haslem received 8 stitches above his eye after quite a brutal foul he suffered at the hands of the Pacers the game before. So, this particular flagrant he had on Hansbrough was warranted in some people’s eyes.