Tyrese Haliburton will 'take that fine gladly' for doing Sam Cassell celebration

Tyrese Haliburton hit the biggest shot of the Indiana Pacers' season and arguably of his life when he buried a stepback 3-pointer over Ty Jerome to complete a miraculous 120-119 comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

The victory was Indiana's second in a row on the road against an undermanned Cavaliers squad to give the Pacers a surprising 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The shot was so clutch that Haliburton could only think of one celebration that fit the moment.

After making the winning 3, Haliburton turned around and bounced down the court doing a dance made famous by former NBA guard Sam Cassell to demonstrate his, um, fearless courage.

Sam Cassell approved pic.twitter.com/WHG4phdGgx
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"I've been waiting for that. I've been waiting for that, man," Haliburton told reporters afterward. "It was just right in the moment. It was just right in the moment.

"Yeah, man. I'll take that fine gladly."

Tyrese Haliburton on his “big balls” celebration 💀

"I've been waiting for that, man. It was just right in the moment. I'll take that fine gladly"

(h/t @ohnohedidnt24)

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Cassell came up with the celebration after watching "Major League II" in which a baseball player performs a "no marbles" dance to taunt an opposing team. He thought it was funny and busted out his version of it after hitting a big shot for the Milwaukee Bucks.

"'Big Balls' dance. That's what I call it," Cassell told The Athletic's Jovan Buha in 2019.

The NBA, the family league that it is, isn't pleased when players pay homage to Cassell's creation. LeBron James was fined $15,000 for doing the dance against the Pacers in 2021. Andre Drummond also was fined $15,000 for "making an inappropriate gesture on the playing court" last year.

So if NBA commissioner Adam Silver maintains consistency in this matter, Haliburton can expect to be out of 15 grand when the league doles out its punishment. Being in the first season of a five-year, $245 million contract, he surely can afford the fine.