Damian Lillard Calls Cap On Aiming Shots At Tyrese Haliburton Amidst The Pacers Being In A 0-2 Hole To The Knicks

The Indiana Pacers put the Milwaukee Bucks out of their misery last Thursday, as Tyrese Haliburton led his team to a 120-98 victory over a Giannis-less Bucks. The series lasted six games, and while the matchup was undoubtedly competitive, the contest seems to have left a bad taste in the mouths of Pacers and Bucks players as the two teams engaged in a lot of back-and-forth banter after the Pacers eliminated the Bucks from the post-season.

After the team’s early playoff exit, Bucks guard Damian Lillard took to his Instagram, posting a quote to his story that read, “Be humble when  you up and be patient when you down.”

The post on Lillard’s Instagram comes just a day after the Pacers went 0-2 in their second-round matchup against the New York Knicks. Haliburton, who had previously engaged in a skirmish with Lillard and Bobby Portis, was especially awful against New York in Game 1, as the 24-year-old put up 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists [per ESPN.com]

An Instagram page named BucksZone posted a screenshot of Lillard’s quote. It attached it alongside a picture of Haliburton’s stats from Game 1, insinuating that Lillard’s words were targeted at the Pacers point guard. 

But in a surprising turn of events, Lillard commented “cap” on the post, expressing his disagreement, and shutting down any further speculations about a possible Lillard-Haliburton beef. 

While Haliburton and Lillard shared a few exchanges during their first-round contest, with Haliburton even replicating Lillard’s iconic “Dame Time” celebration, things never got extremely personal between the two. The only time things got physical between the two superstars was in the dying moments of Game 6, which saw a frustrated Damian Lillard exchange profanities with Haliburton after the two got into a skirmish over the game ball.

Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton might have beef 

The Milwaukee Bucks were severely undermanned when they faced off against Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers in their first-round series during the ongoing playoffs. Not only was Giannis Antetokounmpo out with a calf injury but was often joined by Khris Middleton and Damian Lillard on the injury report as the Bucks played the majority of the post-season without their Big Three on the court together.

The Pacers and Haliburton found the situation extremely welcoming as the Indiana side obliterated the Bucks in 4 of their 6 contests. The 24-year-old from Wisconsin was the major instigator on offense, as Haliburton averaged 16.0 points, 9.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds in 6 games versus the Bucks in the first round [according to Statmuse].

By the time the sixth game rolled around, the Milwaukee side seemed to have accepted their fate, as the Bucks didn’t put up a spirited fight in Game 6 like they did in Game 5. By the time the final second of Game 6 rolled by, Damian Lillard seemed to have grown frustrated at the team’s struggles, as the Portland legend took a swipe at the game ball which was in Haliburton’s hands. 

The 24-year-old All-Star didn’t appreciate Lillard’s actions as he dodged Dame’s attempts at stealing the ball, even engaging in verbal banter with Lillard and Bobby Portis, as Haliburton told Portis to “get the f**k out of my face.” The players were separated during the altercation, and luckily Portis wasn’t ejected as the Bucks forward already had a technical on him.