There's no love lost between the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks. For those who may have forgotten, Giannis Antetokounmpo charged the Pacers' locker room two years ago to chase after the game ball following his 64-point career-high performance.
A bit of that Central Division rivalry was on display on Tuesday night as the Pacers took a commanding 2-0 win in their first-round NBA playoffs series.
At one point in the game, Bucks star Damian Lillard had some words for Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton during a dead-ball situation. The cameras caught Lillard and Haliburton getting into it as the two had to be separated by teammates and coaches.
HALI & DAME EXCHANGE WORDS AS PACERS TAKE 2-0 LEAD
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2025
INDY SPOILS DAME’S RETURN pic.twitter.com/ryX4dS9OpP
The video above does not show how and why the confrontation started. It is also unclear what the two stars had to say, but there's no denying that the two had some choice words for each other.
In Game 1 on Saturday, Lillard and Haliburton got into a heated exchange as well. Lillard wasn't even playing in Game 1 due to a blood clot issue, and it was only on Tuesday that he was able to return to action after missing 15 straight games.
It appears that Lillard does have an issue with Haliburton, and he took the opportunity to confront him again on the court on Tuesday night.
At the end of the day, however, what matters the most is that it's Haliburton and the Pacers who came out on top. They did what they had to do by winning both games at home, now sitting with a 2-0 series lead.
This series now shifts to Milwaukee, and you can be sure that Lillard and Co. will do everything they can to defend their home floor and even out this series.
Game 3 in Milwaukee is on Friday.
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