Ben Stiller wasn't the only funnyman in the house after the Indiana Pacers took the W in the NBA playoff series against the New York Knicks: he received a comic clapback from none other than Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.
Ahead of Game 6 in their series on Saturday, Ben Stiller posted in support of the Knicks by reacting to a video of Haliburton walking into Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Haliburton had on an all-black, funeral-esque suit with a bag in his hand, which prompted Stiller to joke that the latter was needed because New York was sure to win, and thus extend the best-of-seven series (which at that point was 3-2 in favor of Indiana).
“Good thing he brought his duffel for the flight to NY,” wrote Stiller.
After his Pacers won, Haliburton responded to Stiller's message on X, writing that the bag's real purpose was to "pack y'all up."
Haliburton limit his post-game posting to clapbacks, though. Instead, he chose to celebrate the dub on X with a couple of posts. “YES ‘CERRRRRS,” he wrote in one post, followed by a thematically appropriate clip from Keanu Reeves' 2001 flick Hardball.
Haliburton finished Game 6 with 21 points and 13 assists after having a rough Game 5. But his epic performance was nearly undermined by an embarrassing moment where he thought he won the Eastern Conference finals MVP trophy after the game.
During the Pacers’ celebration after their win, Ernie Johnson of Inside the NBA joined Reggie Miller on the court to announce the MVP of the series.
As Johnson started to reveal the winner, the camera panned to Haliburton, who could be seen grinning and showing off peace signs to the audience. He stopped right after Pascal Siakam took home the award.
Haliburton averaged 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in the series. His Pacers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder for the NBA Championship.
