INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton couldn’t match his Game 2 heroics Friday night in Indiana’s Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Haliburton had a quiet Game 3, finishing with four points on 2-of-8 shooting, five assists, three turnovers and zero rebounds in 30 minutes of play. After the poor performance, Haliburton was not made available to speak with reporters after the game. That move, he said, was a team decision and not his own.
“I talk to y’all almost after every game. If I’m not made available, it’s not always my decision. I can’t control it,” he said after practice Saturday. “You’re talking to me now, so any question you have about the game last night, you can ask me right now.
“I’m sure people wanted to hear what I had to say after last night’s game, but I’m here right now to talk to you. So if you want to ask me, you’re more than welcome. I don’t run away from any questions. I went through harder times than last night, so whatever you have to ask, I’ll be there. And if there’s commentary around me not talking last night, people are more than allowed to come and approach me and have a conversation with me about it. But, yeah, I can’t control it. But I don’t run from anything.”
In the Pacers’ 126-104 loss, an in-game adjustment by Cleveland to a 3-2 zone slowed Indiana’s pace, stalling their offense and shutting Haliburton down.
“Gotta just learn how to counter that. I gotta do a better job of keeping myself involved as a screener, creating chaos, creating movement myself,” Haliburton said. “I think I’m getting in the habit of just standing right now, which doesn’t help anybody and plays into what they want. I gotta do a better job screening off the ball, moving without the ball, because they’re not helping. And I think I can get other guys open.”
The Pacers lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday at 8pm ET in Indianapolis. Haliburton is averaging 16.6 points and 10.0 assists per game in Indiana’s eight postseason games.
(Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images)