Animosity continues to rise as Pacers take 2-0 lead vs. Bucks - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — If the repeated verbal altercations and the assessment of double technical fouls in each of the first two games between the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers did not fully convey how acrimonious things have become between the teams, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton made sure to leave no doubt.

«We don't have to sit here and act like it's any secret,» Haliburton said after the Pacers took a 2-0 lead in the series with a 123-115 victory over the Bucks on Tuesday. «We don't like them, they don't like us and that's just what it is. And I think they live for this, we live for this, so I could [not] care less. I'm out here just trying to help my team win a game.»

The latest installment of Bucks-Pacers was just as unfriendly as many of the other recent games between these teams. And things figure to remain heated as the Bucks head back to Milwaukee desperate for a win.

Game 1 in this series was marked by an altercation between Haliburton and Bucks star Damian Lillard — who was on the bench for that game but returned to action for the first time in a month Tuesday. Game 2 produced another run-in between the two All-Stars and Olympians. There was another tense moment when benches cleared after Milwaukee's Gary Trent Jr. and Indiana's Pascal Siakam wrestled over a loose ball.

Of his run-ins with Lillard, Haliburton said, «Just competitors. He wants to win, I want to win. It's the highest level. We're in the highest level in the most contentious moment here in the playoffs.»

Maybe this is what should be expected between two teams that have seen so much of each other in the past two seasons. Including their meetings in the regular season, last season's In-Season Tournament semifinal and their six-game playoff series