Tyrese Haliburton on Thursday followed his historic triple-double by getting held to single digits in everything.
With a passive performance from their playmaker, the Indiana Pacers failed in their first attempt to earn the second NBA Finals trip in franchise history, falling 111-94 to the New York Knicks in Game 5.
They will need Haliburton to be much closer to the player who dominated Game 4 than the one who managed only two baskets in Game 5 when they try again at home today.
Photo: AFP
“Rough night for me,” Haliburton said.
Haliburton had 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds and no turnovers in Game 4, the first 30-15-10 in the post-season since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-1978.
However, he was limited to eight points, six assists and two rebounds on Thursday.
Photo: AP
The All-NBA point guard did not even have a basket in the first half, when the Pacers’ total of 45 points was just two more than the had in the first quarter of Game 4.
“I’ve got to be better setting the tone, getting downhill. I feel like I didn’t do a great job of that, but I’ll watch the film,” Haliburton said. “There were some different things they did defensively, but for the most part their base stuff was the same. They picked up the pressure a little bit more, try to apply more as the game went on, but I’ve got to be better and I will be better in Game 6.”
The Knicks cut down on some of the mistakes they made in Game 4 that allowed Haliburton and the Pacers to get their transition game going. And they were much sharper in the halfcourt, rarely letting him penetrate into the lane to set up opportunities for himself or his teammates.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“It’s probably a combination of him missing some shots he normally makes, but I thought our guys were tied together and trying to make him work for everything and that’s what you have to do,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Pacers were held to their lowest point total of the post-season and shot just 40.5 percent from the field. Haliburton was not the only one who struggled, with Aaron Nesmith going just one-for-eight on the same court he had a post-season career-high 30 points to spark Indiana’s comeback in Game 1.
Pascal Siakam, who had his post-season career high of 39 in Game 2, was limited to 15 — and that made him the only Indiana starter in double figures.
“We weren’t great as a group,” Haliburton said. “We turned the ball over too much, didn’t rebound to our ability [like] we have shown this series. When you [do not] do those two things against these guys in a game that comes down to so many possessions, it’s tough.”
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