The hero of the Indiana Pacers’ epic Game 1 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton was finally getting the recognition he deserves for being one of the fastest-rising superstars in the NBA. However, Haliburton did not have quite the same magic in Game 2. He was quiet in the first half of Game 2, and when he got going, it was too little too late as the Pacers suffered a 123-107 defeat on Sunday.
Haliburton went just 1-5 from the field for three points in the first half, and it was in the first 24 minutes or so of the game where the Pacers lost control of the proceedings and ended up playing catch up the rest of the way. While he finished with 17 points, his lack of aggression on the offensive end was jarring to see. Nonetheless, head coach Rick Carlisle isn’t too fixated on Haliburton’s scoring total. What he wants from the team is to execute their game plan, which they weren’t able to at the level that was required in their Game 2 loss.
“There’s a lot more to the game than just scoring. Everybody’s got to do more,” Carlisle said following the Pacers’ loss, per Tony East of Sports Illustrated.
If there’s anyone who typifies the notion that the game of basketball goes beyond the scoring, it’s Haliburton. He ended up with just 14 points in Game 1, but he did score the two most important points of the game and the defensive attention he commanded freed up his teammates over and over again.
The Pacers are much more dangerous team when Haliburton fills up the scoring column, but this is not the strongest point of his game. And it’s high time the discourse surrounding him focuses on the things he does for the team even when he isn’t at his best, scoring-wise.
Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers look to break Game 3 rut
The Pacers have been incredible on the road throughout this year’s playoffs. They swept the Cleveland Cavaliers on their own home turf, took two out of three in Madison Square Garden, and stole Game 1 from right underneath the Thunder’s nose.
Game 3, however, has been the Pacers’ Achilles heel. In all three previous playoff rounds, they lost the third game of the series — with two of those coming at home. Perhaps the 2025 NBA Finals is when things change for a Pacers team that’s been better away from home over the past two months.
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