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Trust goes a long way for Haliburton in stunning Pacers comeback

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1 daysBasketball

Tyrese Haliburton said the trust of his team-mates and coach Rick Carlisle was crucial after leading the Indiana Pacers to an astonishing comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Pacers took a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday, beating the top-seeded Cavs 120-119.

Haliburton made a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to seal the victory, with Indiana scoring the final eight points in 47.9 seconds.

According to ESPN, since 1997-98, there have only been three instances of a team winning a playoff game when trailing by at least seven points in the fourth quarter or overtime, in 1,643 attempts.

The Pacers have now done so twice this offseason, having also accomplished the feat against the Milwaukee Bucks in their Game 5 clincher in the first round.

But Haliburton was never fazed by the situation facing his team, telling reporters: "I'm at peace. I'm at peace with my game. 

"I'm understanding that I'm trusted in these moments. I have all the confidence in the world to make these shots.

"We just have a resilient group, man. We just figure out ways to win. We don't give up. We're battle-tested as a group. 

"We've basically been together for about two years now and that continuity has been really good for us."

Haliburton had 19 points with 11 of those coming in the fourth quarter, having faced chants of "overrated" from the Cleveland fans throughout the game, having recently been voted the NBA's most overrated player in an anonymous player poll.

"I didn't know we had beef," Haliburton said with a laugh. "That came out of nowhere, but now that label is there, that's going to be every time we play on the road. 

"It'll probably follow me until the next poll comes out, and then we'll see if I'm number one again."

The Cavs, meanwhile, will look to get on the board in Game 3 on Friday, when they visit Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana. No home team has won a game in the second round of this year's playoffs to date.

"We can sit here and dwell on this and be home in about four or five days or we can move on," Donovan Mitchell, who finished with a brilliant 48 points for the Cavs, said. 

"We'll take some things that we did really well and go from there. I have no doubt everybody in the locker room is ready for Friday. 

"It sucks. It stings. But we've got to go out there and take care of business. I believe in everybody in that locker room. We believe in each other. We'll figure it out."