The Indiana Pacers blew away the Milwaukee Bucks on a Tyrese Haliburton game-winner to push his team to the Playoffs' second round – a clash with the Cavaliers. A total of 17,274 fans were left dumbfounded when the Milwaukee Bucks looked poised to come up with a Game 6 at home as they led by as many as 20 points for the whole game. But Tyrese Haliburton put up one of the best games of his career, and he eventually led the Indiana Pacers to rally and win Game 5, 119-118 – and clinch the series at 4-1.

All of that thrill, much to the delight of the home crowd

Giannis Antetokounmpo brought his signature game on display, finishing with 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 13 assists – doing the heavy lifting with his co-star Damian Lillard out with an injury. All that effort, only for the Bucks to eventually lose its third straight first-round playoff series. The Pacers cruised for a huge game in OT, which proved to be the defining part of the game.

In the end, Haliburton responded well to being called the no. 1 overrated player in the NBA, and he did it with a promising performance for the ages – including a game-winner over the hulking defender in Antetokounmpo. That was his hero moment, and the crowd loved his confidence in the way he showed his impressive play and climbed the stands in celebration.

The Comeback Pacers

After being down by as many as 20 points, the Pacers tried to slowly chip away from the Bucks’ lead and had plenty of chances to boost their attack. By the end of the third quarter, they have already tied it at 75 points. Milwaukee had plenty of chances to put the game away, but Giannis missed out his fadeaway jumper in the fourth that left the game deadlocked at 103.

After a surge of threes from Gary Trent Jr. and Giannis putting up some key defensive stops left and right, the Bucks were suddenly up seven with 40 seconds left to play. Indiana fans were starting to feel nervous, and that was until Andrew Nembhard drilled a pull up three to cut the lead to four, and later came up with a steal that led to a layup for Haliburton, and-one.

Another horrendous turnover by Trent Jr. opened up the chance for Indiana to complete its comeback, and it was in the hands of Haliburton right off the inbounds pass. The star guard shuffled left and right trying to shake off his defender in Antetokounmpo, who contested him well. However, Haliburton’s speed was enough to blow past the Greek Freak, and calmly sank the game-winner.

The Bucks tried to heave a three from Trent Jr., but to no avail, and there was even a short scuffle on mid-court between the two teams. Now the Pacers have taken down one of its rivals in the playoffs once more.

Overrated Haliburton

Just a few days ago, Tyrese Haliburton was voted as the most overrated player in the NBA. He didn’t actually mind the criticism so far, and he responded perfectly – a clutch performance and a massive game-winner to send the Pacers to the second round. He posted 26 points, nine assists, five rebounds, three steals, and three blocks in the win for Indiana.

"It didn't impact the way I played today at all," Haliburton said. "I must be doing something right if that's the case. I don't have a big speech or comment on it. All I care about is this locker room and winning games."

With all of that smoke left behind, Haliburton will have a further chance to bring his game to the next level when the Pacers now take on the first-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in Round 2, who came off with a sweep over the eighth-seed Miami Heat.