The Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics on Tuesday became the latest teams to book their places in the second round of the NBA playoffs as the Detroit Pistons thwarted the New York Knicks to keep their post-season hopes alive.
In Indianapolis, the Pacers battled back from a 20-point deficit and then rallied again in overtime to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-118 to seal a 4-1 victory in their NBA Eastern Conference duel.
Reigning NBA champions the Celtics had an easier time of it as they overpowered the Orlando Magic with a series-clinching 120-89 victory at Boston’s TD Garden.
Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / USA Today
The Knicks, leading their series 3-1, missed the chance to join Boston and Indiana in the second round after losing 106-103 to Detroit at Madison Square Garden.
In Tuesday’s other game, the Denver Nuggets edged into a 3-2 lead in their tense series with the Los Angeles Clippers after grabbing a crucial 131-115 win in Colorado thanks to a 43-point masterpiece from Jamal Murray.
The Pacers advanced to an Eastern Conference semi-final series with top seeds the Cleveland Cavaliers after pulling off a remarkable overtime Houdini act.
The Pacers trailed 118-111 with 40 seconds remaining, but launched an 8-0 run that culminated with Tyrese Haliburton’s driving layup to clinch victory with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
A late blunder by Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr — who fumbled a wide open pass to turn over possession and set up Haliburton’s winning layup — proved pivotal.
“Both teams literally left every single ounce of everything they had out there, including time-outs — nobody had anything left,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “But you know, fortune favors the bold — and our guys were bold in the last three quarters and we’re very grateful and thankful to be moving on.”
Asked what his message to his players had been after they had fallen 20 points behind early on, Carlisle replied: “Hit somebody.”
Meanwhile, Haliburton was so excited about their improbable overtime rally that he did not realize what led to a post-game scuffle between his teammates and the Bucks.
Then he got to the locker room, watched the replay and winced when he saw his father on the court confronting two-time Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“I had no idea it happened until I got back to the locker room and they showed me the video of my pops,” the two-time All-Star said. “We had a little talk about it. I don’t agree with what transpired there. I think basketball is basketball and let’s keep it on the court. I think he just got excited.”
Antetokounmpo said he did not recognize Haliburton’s dad, thinking he was just another fan who had run onto the court, before the incident in which John Haliburton displayed a towel with his son’s image while yelling: “This is what we fucking do.”
“I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,” said Antetokounmpo, who finished with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists.
Tyrese Haliburton seemed genuinely upset about the incident, promising to reach out to Antetokounmpo before the teams play again.
“I’ll talk to Giannis about it eventually,” said Tyrese Haliburton, who grew up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. “I don’t think my pops was in the right at all there. It’s unfortunate what happened at the end there.”
Additional reporting by AP
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