Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard have had their differences on the court, but the former sent love to the latter following the potentially tragic event that took place on Sunday. Lillard is feared to have torn his Achilles in Game 4 between the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks, and Haliburton paid tribute to him postgame.
“Before y’all ask any questions, I wanna send my thoughts and prayers to Dame,” Haliburton said. “What you see between us is competing, and you hate to see that happen. Especially a guy who’s went through a lot and he’s given it his all to come out here and play after a scary health issue.
“It’s well-documented the love I have for that guy,” Haliburton added. “You hate to see that happen to anybody. I wish him the best moving forward.”
Lillard had just returned from over a month-long absence due to deep vein thrombosis in Game 2 against the Pacers. The 34-year-old did everything within his power to come back for his team, only to potentially suffer one of the worst injuries for an athlete in the first quarter of Game 4.
Haliburton hopes the best for Lillard, whom he has been chirping with on the court for some time now. The Pacers guard was certainly the one who got the ball rolling, as he did the “Dame Time” celebration after beating the Bucks in the semifinals of the 2023 In-Season Tournament.
After the game, Lillard told Haliburton to stay humble, and there has been some tension whenever they have faced off ever since. They’ve exchanged words even when one of them wasn’t playing.
Lillard brutally trash-talked Haliburton in the closing stages of Game 1, and you hoped to see fireworks on the court when the former was able to make his comeback. Unfortunately, the nine-time All-Star was far from his best after spending all that time on the sidelines.
Lillard averaged 7.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game against the Pacers. He also shot just 22.2% from the field and 18.8% from beyond the arc.
The Bucks didn’t stand much of a chance of beating the Pacers with Lillard playing like this. His exit from Game 4, though, all but ended their hopes of winning the series. The Pacers won 129-103 to take a 3-1 lead and are now on the brink of eliminating the Bucks in the first round for the second straight year.
Lillard also missed two games in that series last year due to a strained Achilles. He was out for Games 4 and 5 but did return in Game 6, which the Bucks ended up losing 120-98 to get eliminated. It wouldn’t be a surprise if this upcoming Game 5 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday at 6 PM ET turns out to be a blowout as well.
While the Bucks are staring at a dark future now, the Pacers are determined to go on another deep playoff run as they did last year, when they made the Eastern Conference Finals. Haliburton is the one they’ll look to for inspiration, and he has averaged 15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in these playoffs.
