Tyrese Haliburton ‘Gladly’ Taking Fine for Game-Winner Celebration

Tyrese Haliburton is going to feel his latest buzzer-beater in his pocket. 

The Pacers star guard hit a step-back 3 with 1.1 seconds left to drop the Cavaliers 120–119 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The series goes back to Indiana with the Pacers up 2–0. 

The 6-foot-5 guard grabbed the rebound from his own miss, brought the ball back out beyond the arc, and hit the three over Ty Jerome for his second game-winner in his past three playoff games. Haliburton celebrated with the “big balls” dance popularized by former NBA guard Sam Cassell during his playing career. Cassell is now an assistant coach with the Celtics and has said he got the idea from the movie Major League II.

Haliburton is not the first NBA player to draw inspiration from Cassell. The NBA has a history of fining players for using the celebration. LeBron James did it against the Pacers, coincidentally, in 2021 and was fined $15,000 in what the league called “making an obscene gesture on the playing court.” Rockets guard Fred VanVleet has been fined the same amount for copying Cassell. 

In his postgame press conference, Haliburton was asked about the celebration and the likely discipline that came with it. 

“I’ve been waiting for that, man,” Haliburton said. “It was just right in the moment. I’ll take that fine gladly.” 

Haliburton’s game-winner came a week after he hit another against the Bucks in Game 5 of the first round against the Bucks to win the series 4–1. That series ended with Haliburton jumping on the scorer’s table, imitating Dwyane Wade. 

Afterward, Haliburton’s father, John, celebrated by getting in the face of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, which led to the two being separated. Tyrese Haliburton disagreed with his father’s behavior, and the Pacers decided to ban John from playoff games both home and away for the “foreseeable future.”