Tyrese Haliburton Explains Why Critics Talking 'S--t' Fuels Him amid NBA Playoff Run

One of many things about Tyrese Haliburton that has come out during his stellar postseason run with the Indiana Pacers is negative outside opinions don't do anything to hinder his game.

Speaking to ESPN's Jamal Collier, Haliburton explained why opponents and critics "talking s--t" about him serves to motivate him.

"I love external motivation," Haliburton said. "Somebody's talking s--t about me, I want to know because I want to respond. I want to go back at them."

There has been no shortage of ways for Haliburton to motivate himself lately. The biggest one came on April 22 when The Athletic's Sam Amick and Josh Robbins published the results from their annual anonymous player survey.

While most of the responses were fairly benign, the one that stood out was Haliburton being atop the "most overrated" list. To be fair, he received 14.4 percent of the vote from 90 respondents, or roughly 13 votes.

But it did suggest there's something about Haliburton that gets under the skin of opposing players. His wrestling fandom and embrace of a heel persona on WWE television indicate he knows how to play the villain role very well.

Haliburton has brought that WWE-style personality with him on the court. He pulled out the Sam Cassell celebration in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on their home court after hitting the go-ahead three with 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation.

The two-time All-Star one-upped himself in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks on Wednesday. He recreated the infamous Reggie Miller choking gesture after hitting the game-tying shot at the end of regulation.

Even though Haliburton acknowledged after the game, a 138-135 overtime win for the Pacers, that he wouldn't have made the gesture if he knew his foot was on the line, he knows exactly what he's doing to rile up opposing fans and players.

Whatever Haliburton is doing to fuel him, it's working in a way that has put the Pacers in a good position to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

Haliburton has scored 31 points in each of his last two games. He's averaging 18.7 points on 48.1 percent shooting, 9.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game in 11 starts this postseason.

The Pacers will look to take a 2-0 series lead against the Knicks in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.