The LA Lakers came out as the first-ever winners of the NBA’s In-Season tournament after defeating the Indiana Pacers 123-109. Tyrese Haliburton topped his team’s scoring with 20 points and 11 assists but admitted later on that they had been completely outplayed by LeBron James and Co. Speaking to the press afterward, the 23-year-old star had a rather NSFW description of the game, conceding that he felt sick and frustrated after Saturday night’s outing in Vegas.
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The Pacers were outhustled right from the start as Haliburton lamented his team’s lack of effort on loose balls and rebounds, claiming that they simply did not get enough ‘stops’ to impact the game. “They outplayed us, it’s frustrating. It’s funny cuz it’s like everybody says it has like the NCAA Tournament feel,” he said, before talking about how demoralizing the loss proved to be.
Haliburton went on to claim that the feeling of the NBA Cup resembled that of the NCAA tournament. However, while senior college teams graduate and won’t have to play each other again in the future, that will not be true for the Pacers and the Lakers.
“But after a game like that and you’re sitting in the locker room and you’re like, ‘Damn like, motherf**kers ain’t graduating, you know what I mean? We play on Monday,’” the Pacers star continued, before talking about his own plans.
The Pacers will now take on the struggling Detroit Pistons. Haliburton said that they had no choice but to continue their Regular Season heroics. “We gotta take that one on the chin, we have a flight tomorrow, we play Detroit on Monday…It’s all part of the season,” he said.
The Pacers have got off to a 12-8 start to the season and are currently 5th in the East. While Haliburton was obviously dejected after losing the In-Season Final, he knows that they lost to the better team. They have a long season ahead and hence, can’t allow dejection to take charge.
The Indiana Pacers will take solace in their impressive Regular Season start
The Pacers will surely be dejected, after having come so close to a $500k payout that the In-Season Championship presented for each player. Having been one of the most impressive offensive teams in the league this season, the Pacers were outmuscled by the Lakers and had to concede 87 points in the paint.
Still, with a young Haliburton producing a breakthrough season, there is plenty to look forward to. The Pacers have every chance of rising further in the Eastern Conference and will look to start with a win over the Pistons, who are 2-20 at the start of the season.
Haliburton has not only been utterly efficient thus far, shooting at 62.5% from inside the 3-point zone, but has also delivered consistently in crucial moments, something which was evident in the cup competition in particular. The young star has graduated into a superstar and is currently averaging 26.9 points and 12.1 assists per game. That has made him a contender for the MVP award as well, with Haliburton coming in 6th in the latest rankings, according to NBA.com.
