Donovan Mitchell quiets Cavs fans chanting ‘overrated’ at Tyrese Haliburton before thrilling finish

Sometimes you’re better off not poking the bear.

Just before halftime of Game 2 against the Pacers, with the Cavaliers ahead by 10 points, Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton was serenaded by “overrated” chants from a raucous fanbase.

Except the home team’s star player wanted to hear none of that.

Donovan Mitchell waved his hands and indicated for the home faithful to quiet down while Haliburton took his free throws with the Cavaliers leading, 59-49.

Haliburton ultimately got the last laugh, shutting the crowd up for good when he nailed the game-winning 3-pointer with one second left to secure a miraculous Game 2 comeback.

While road superstars can often receive “overrated” chants, there’s extra significance when Haliburton is involved since he was voted the NBA’s most overrated player by his fellow players in an anonymous poll that was revealed at the end of the season.

“That one was unexpected,” Haliburton told reporters when asked about the chants following the 120-119 win that gave Indiana a shocking 2-0 series lead.

“I didn’t know we had beef…. Good for them. That came out of nowhere. I think now that that label is there, it’s going to be that every time we play somebody on the road. It’ll probably follow me until the next poll comes out. We’ll see if I am No. 1 again. I control what I can and yeah, overrate that.”

That poll clearly upset the Pacers’ guard, as a week after its release, Haliburton, who had just helped clinch an opening-round series win over the Bucks, posted “Overrate THAT” on X after the Game 5 victory in which he delivered the game-winning layup with 1.1 seconds remaining.

The guard helped his team storm back from a 119-112 deficit with 48 seconds remaining on Tuesday night, scoring the game’s final four points.

After he missed a free throw with 12.1 seconds left and the Pacers trailing, 119-17, Haliburton grabbed his own offensive rebound and dribbled the ball to the perimeter before he stepped back for a 24-foot step-back 3-pointer to win the game with one second remaining.

Mitchell, who ended the game with 48 points, wasn’t blameless in this epic collapse.

The Cavaliers’ star took an inbounds pass with 45.2 seconds left and furiously threw his elbow and drew an offensive fouls that ignited a collapse of epic proportions.

The Cavaliers now face a must-win in Game 3 as the series shifts to Indianapolis, as no team in basketball history has come back from a 3-0 series hole.