Getty Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard
The Indiana Pacers ended the Milwaukee Bucks season, but Tyrese Haliburton decided to send a few parting shots too. The Pacers star trolled both Damian Lillard and Patrick Beverley after the elimination.
Haliburton quote-tweeted a video of Beverley talking about how he guards Haliburton. In the caption, he wrote, “Con man. Flip from above the rim.”
This was a direct reference to when Lillard wrote the same thing when he played for the Portland Trail Blazers, and Beverley played for the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2023. For context, the two of them got into an altercation when the two faced off.
Lillard wrote the exact same caption as a quote tweet in response to Beverley’s postgame press conference later on that night.
For reference, Flip is Bernie Mac’s character from the 1994 movie “Above the Rim.” In a 2019 anniversary article, Andscape describes Flip as “a local junkie responsible for the movie’s most prophetic and eerie line. … ‘They can’t erase what we were, man.'”
Haliburton clearly wanted to make fun of both of his Bucks’ opponents, especially since there was bad blood between them before they became teammates in Milwaukee. Lillard and Haliburton also got into a little skirmish during Game 6.
Tyrese Haliburton just did this to Damian Lillard 🤣🤣
If the Bucks keep their core intact for the 2024-25 season, there would likely be even more bad blood. By beating the Bucks, the Pacers won their first playoff series since 2014. The Bucks on the other hand have won only three playoff games since 2023 and only one playoff series since winning a title in 2021.
Patrick Beverley Responds to Fan Altercation
In the closing minutes of the Bucks’ season, the NBA on TNT broadcast captured Beverley throwing a ball at a Pacers fan twice.
Rob Perez posted the altercation via his X account.
altercation between pat bev and pacers fans behind the bench
Beverley responded to the video itself several hours after the video went viral. He wrote the following caption on his X account.
“Not Fair at all. Exchanged between a fan and our ball club all night. We warned and asked for help all night. Not fair,” Beverley wrote with two prayer emojis and a heart emoji.
Since the incident happened, no word has come out regarding Beverley’s potential punishment by the NBA. That will change in the coming days. Players have received fines for throwing the ball into the stands or confronting fans in the stands. Beverley pelted a fan with a basketball, which could result in a suspension.
This is not the first time Beverley has lashed out when his team was on the verge of elimination. During the 2021 Western Conference Finals, Beverley shoved Chris Paul as the Suns were on the verge of eliminating the Clippers.
Beverley’s actions led to a one-game suspension when the 2021-22 season started.
Charles Barkley Calls Patrick Beverley’s Actions ‘Wrong’
After the clip of Beverley’s altercation went viral, Charles Barkley called him out for his actions. Awful Announcing’s X account posted Barkley’s tidbit on Beverley.
Charles Barkley with harsh words for Patrick Beverley.
“Listen, I’ve done stupid stuff and I got criticized. That’s just wrong. He’s gonna get suspended for that. And that’s gonna be a good one, too. ‘Cause he didn’t do it once. He did it twice.”
“Listen, I’ve done stupid stuff, and I got criticized. That’s just wrong. He’s gonna get suspended for that. And that’s gonna be a good one, too. ‘Cause he didn’t do it once. He did it twice… I don’t expect that from an 18-year-old. That’s just stupid.”
If Beverley gets suspended, there’s no telling if that will be as a member of the Bucks when the 2024-25 season starts.