NBA ALL-STAR SKILLS CHALLENGE

February 17, 2024

Tyrese Haliburton

Myles Turner

Bennedict Mathurin

Team Pacers

Press Conference

Q. Game-winner from half-court for the Skills Challenge. Take me through that and what it felt like to have it happen.

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Felt good. There was a lot of energy in the building, and a lot of people want to see us succeed. Yeah, feels good to win.

Q. Maybe just watching the first team was the master that you get two balls to pass to win the tiebreaker.

MYLES TURNER: I heard a fan. He was like, ‘Get two balls.’ I was like, ‘That's a good idea’

Q. Didn't know what this was going to entail coming in. At what point did you figure out what it was going to entail? Did you figure it out on the fly? What do you think made it work across the board?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: They told us during the walkthrough, we had a walkthrough before, they told us about the first round. We didn't know what the passing or the shooting looked like.

We felt like we probably had the best team chemistry just because we're actually teammates. So we could use that to our benefit.

Q. The last couple of weeks, Myles, you talked about embracing this opportunity being the city's ambassador. To do that off the court and on the court in front of 35,000 fans, probably 90 percent cheering for the Pacers, what does this mean for you?

MYLES TURNER: That's cool. It's a really glorifying moment to bring home some hardware. And being part of the All-Star festivities, off the floor, making an impact, and just seeing more and more people welcomed to Indianapolis.

Q. Ben, a lot of these are individual, but you guys did this one together. How much more special does that make it because of it?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: It makes it fun. Makes it fun going with them, and also the Skills Challenge is a good thing not only for us but for the whole city of Indianapolis.

Q. Myles, last night Ben guaranteed his. You guaranteed this one. What gave you that confidence for tonight?

MYLES TURNER: The energy in the building was solid, man. He kicked a lot of things off last night. So it was cool. I think it was cool just to be in that environment and obviously come out with the win.

Q. Ty, I know you've been crazy busy this whole week, but where does this moment, winning this trophy with your teammates, rank with all the stuff that you guys have been through this weekend?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Number one. Number one so far. At the end of the day, this weekend is about basketball. When we're out doing basketball, we were able to win. This has been number one for me so far. I don't know if Ben would agree.

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: Totally 100 percent, sure.

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Cap!

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: That's crazy.

Q. Ty, Myles earlier said this would be home cooking. This was going to be easy for you guys. How did you feel the crowd give you the energy from the relay and through the other skills competitions?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: We felt like there was a lot of energy in the building. We heard in our intros how loud the crowd gets, and that was exciting for us to be a part of.

This whole weekend has been exciting for us to be a part of, I think we all can agree, being able to do stuff in the community, doing brand activations, all this stuff, has been a lot of fun. And good for people to see our city for what it is, rather than, when they come here, they don't really go out because we play the next day or whatever. They can actually enjoy the city for what it is.

Q. Ben, last night you were in full attack mode and talking trash. Today, once again, you're going all out for this competition. What is it about you that makes you want to compete no matter what it is?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: That's a great question. I just don't see the purpose of coming out here and not trying to win. I mean, I get to say I'm undefeated. Two years in a row, I won the Rising Stars Game. Now the Skills Challenge. What's next?

I'm really excited for us going back into the season.

Q. Myles, you've been around a lot of guys. What is it about Ben, that attack mindset, just the way he is or he just wants to win no matter what he's doing?

MYLES TURNER: He's a dog, man. Some people are just born that way. I think he's naturally born for the moment. He's a competitor and a showman, and he's able to go out and do his duties.

It's not just for show. This is him every single day. You've got to have guys around you on your team. It's easy to have consistent, reliable energy.

Q. All three of you guys, what was that court like to play on between the relays and the shooting? Was it distracting? Was it cool? What did you guys experience out there?

MYLES TURNER: I thought it was pretty cool, honestly. It didn't really bother me. I feel like I play a full 48 like that. I thought it was cool. Probably looked great on TV for the fans. I wasn't mad at it.

Q. I know you guys have aspirations of winning some bigger things here in a couple months. How much has this weekend gotten you excited for potentially the crowds of the playoffs coming up?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: Great question.

TYRESE HALIBURTON: I think it's exciting for us. Obviously, we were able to play in some high stakes, competitive basketball earlier in the year. Had a playoff-like feel. We saw how our crowd can get, and I think everybody can acknowledge, when watching the game against Boston, the energy in our building was second to none.

I think that, as well as this and bringing fans out. We all have aspirations of getting to the playoffs this year and competing for that. This just makes us want it more. You see all the Pacers fans coming out to everything we're doing and supporting us, not only in these events, but our brand activations and stuff.

It means the world to us. So we want to repay that by playing the right way and getting in the playoffs and playing high-stakes basketball.

Q. Ty, what was it like to go straight from this to the 3-Point Contest? How do you feel about your overall performance in that?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: I thought it was going to give me an advantage, but I missed. I don't know. It just wasn't my day. It wasn't my day. We'll try again next time.

I think I'm going to just keep coming back until they don't allow me to, and eventually I'm going to win one. I'm going to retire after that. I'm going to keep coming back, and eventually I'm going to win one.