INDIANAPOLIS — After Tyrese Haliburton’s dazzling 3-pointer off his own missed free throw completed the Pacers’ comeback win over the Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, his phone obviously blew up including with some of his newly found famous friends.
“(Justin) Timberlake texted me,” Haliburton said. “Floyd (Mayweather) texted me. Me and Steph (Curry) texted a little bit. I mean, I’ve been able to grow some cool relationships. I had some pretty cool texts. But there was a cool video of my dog running around the house after the shot. That was the coolest one.”
But in the midst of that he also made a point to connect later in the evening with one of his oldest and closest friends in the NBA, who himself is in the midst of a fairly remarkable playoff run.
Former Pacers guard Buddy Hield — who played with Haliburton in Sacramento in the All-Star point guard’s first two seasons before they were traded to Indiana together in February of 2022 — has become one of the most unexpected stars of this year’s playoffs. He scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds Tuesday night to help the Golden State Warriors win Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series against the Timberwolves despite a hamstring injury suffered by Curry. That came after Hield scored 33 points on 12 of 15 shooting including 9 of 11 from 3-point range in the Warriors’ Game 7 win over the Rockets on Sunday to clinch the first-round matchup and also had a key steal and two blocks.
Hield played with the Pacers from February of 2022 to February of 2024 before he was traded to the 76ers. He signed with the Warriors as a free agent this offseason and he averaged 11.1 points per game this season, mostly coming off the bench.
“We FaceTimed after the game, too, after his game as well,” Haliburton said. “It’s really special to see him doing what he’s doing especially because that’s like family to me. It’s so cool to see him taking this bigger role and now with Steph out he’s going to be expected to do even more.”
Hield moved up to 16th on the all-time 3-point shooting list this season with 2,127. He’s ninth among active players and in 2022-23 he broke Reggie Miller’s single season Pacers 3-point record by hitting 288. Like Haliburton, he doesn’t have the greatest reputation on defense, but he was strong there in Game 7 causing coach Steve Kerr to open his speech to the team in the locker room by saying, “Hey fellas. I’m gonna utter some words that have never been spoken before by anybody on Earth. Buddy Hield, you set the tone defensively.”
“He’s doing it on both ends,” Haliburton said. “I was joking with coach (Rick Carlisle) after Game 1. ‘Did you see what Buddy was doing out there on defense?’ He said to me, ‘Who would’ve thought Tyrese and Buddy would make big defensive plays on the same day?'”
Haliburton has also been entertained watching the Warriors get the whole Buddy Hield Experience. The eccentric native of the Bahamas has apparently made it his personal mission to annoy five-time All-NBA wing Jimmy Butler since the Warriors acquired him from the Heat at the trade deadline in February and their dynamic has made for the most comical moments of the playoffs.
Before the playoffs, Butler made a point of complimenting Curry — the two-time MVP and the league’s all-time leading 3-point shooter by saying he’s a “Batman” and saying that he’s just trying to be his Robin. Ever since, Hield has been finding ways of inserting himself into the superhero conversation. Hield first declared himself to be Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s butler, but then said that Butler should be Alfred because his name is Butler. After Game 7 against the Warriors, Butler’s press conference followed Hield’s, and Hield introduced Butler and then hung around behind the podium demanding Butler “Tell them you’re not Robin no more. You’re Alfred.”
Then after Game 1, their teammate Draymond Green said that with Curry out, Butler moves up to being Batman and Hield to being Robin. But in a hysterical press conference Hield and Butler held together, Hield said, “I’m Batman today. I saved the day. He’s still Robin.”
Butler countered by noting that Hield had been called for a technical foul early in the game because he was wearing the wrong shorts. The Warriors were wearing black shorts with gold trim, but Hield’s had on blue trim and he was called for a delay of game penalty and had to go back to the locker room and change.
“You had another good game, man, except for that stupid thing you did at the beginning of the game when you didn’t have on the right shorts,” Butler said after the game. “That’s not very Robin- and/or Batman-like.”
Hield proceeded to blame Butler, saying that their lockers are together and he asked Butler where his shorts were and Butler showed him and they were the wrong shorts.
“It’s Jimmy’s fault,” Hield said. “Blame Jimmy.”
An incredulous Butler, who apparently remembered a much different exchange, asked: “That’s what you’re going with?”
Haliburton said he’s watched all of these exchanges and empathizes with Butler.
“Jimmy can probably really relate to what I went through for many years,” Haliburton said. “The shorts thing is like the most Buddy Hield thing I’ve ever seen in my life. And no accountability with this guy. You saw him in the media talking about, ‘Blame Jimmy.’ It’s unbelievable. He’s probably too busy drinking Red Bull before the game to even understand what he was doing. I’ve watched all those, because I feel Jimmy. Very much so.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘I feel Jimmy’: Tyrese Haliburton proud of Buddy Hield, entertained by antics
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
