Pacers' Haliburton eyes win vs.'idol' LeBron, Lakers for NBA Cup - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — On their march to the NBA's in-season tournament's title game, the Indiana Pacers have knocked off the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks — the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season.

Now, Indiana finds itself up against the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James in Saturday's title game, with the right to be the first team to lift the NBA Cup on the line — a situation Tyrese Haliburton says feels like a storybook ending to Indiana's coming-out party over the past few months.

«Like any kid born in 2000, LeBron was my favorite player growing up,» Haliburton said Friday afternoon after Indiana's practice here at T-Mobile Arena, «and it's hard for him not to be for a lot of us. Growing up, I was a Cavs fan, then a Heat fan, then a Cavs fan again, then a Lakers fan before I got drafted. It's just how it went.

»To be able to compete against him in a championship is kind of like a storybook [ending] a little bit, and it's going to be a lot of fun. But that's the great part about being in the NBA, getting to compete against your idols on a nightly basis. I really look forward to that."

The Pacers have been looking forward to this tournament since before it began, seeing it as an opportunity to put themselves on the national NBA radar after missing the playoffs for the past four seasons — and for Haliburton, individually, to launch himself into superstardom after making his first All-Star appearance last season and playing for Team USA's FIBA World Cup entry this summer.

And, so far, it's been mission accomplished on that front, as the Pacers have taken down every big-name player and foe that's come before them, including upsetting both the Celtics and