Knicks fans pummeled an effigy of Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton on the streets of Manhattan after third-seeded New York saved its season with a 111-94 win over Indiana in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night.
Made with some stuffed laundry and paper mask taped around a flimsy pillow-like head, the Haliburton doll was part of a ‘social experiment’ on the Knicks faithful outside of Madison Square Garden, according to its creator.
‘So I brought a stuffed Halliburton as a social experiment to see how long he would last outside Madison Square Garden because he’s currently the most hated man in New York City,’ 24-year-old Henry Wang told The New York Post.
‘He did not last even seven minutes. I think he got completely disemboweled. He got jumped. They pantsed him.’
The humiliation didn’t stop there. As Wang explained: ‘Then the cops took him.’
It was Haliburton’s buzzer beater that sent Game 1 into overtime at MSG, where the Pacers completed a 17-point comeback to take a 1-0 series lead.
Knicks fans pummeled an effigy of Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton on the streets of Manhattan after third-seeded New York saved its season with a 111-94 win in Game 5 of the ECF
Tyrese Haliburton had only eight points in Thursday’s Game 5 loss at Madison Square Garden
New York Knicks fans celebrate Thursday’s win outside of Madison Square Garden
Since then, the All-Star guard and Knicks tormentor has been up and down, dropping 14 and 20 points in Games 2 and 3, respectively, before breaking out for 32 in a Game 4 victory back in Indianapolis.
But on Thursday in Manhattan, Haliburton wasn’t a factor, scoring just eight points and adding only six assists and two rebounds in the Game 5 loss.
Now holding a 3-2 series lead, the Pacers will have another chance to eliminate the Knicks on Saturday in Indianapolis, where Haliburton has pledged to turn things around.
‘I gotta be better, and I will be better in Game 6,’ Haliburton told reporters. ‘I’ll watch the film and learn from it like I always do and be prepared for Game 6.’
Haliburton and the Pacers will also need to find a way to stop Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, who had a game-high 32 points on Thursday night while hitting 12 of 18 shots from the field.
And Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns may have been even better, adding 13 rebounds to go with 24 points as New York outscored Indiana by 24 pounds during his 36 minutes of action.
