INDIANAPOLIS – The Pacers I still had a glimmer of hope because Tyrese Haliburton dribbled down the court Monday with less than a minute to play. THE Riders were clinging to a four-point lead and Haliburton was trying to make it a one-possession game. He had his chance on a step-back 3-pointer in the right corner, but his shot took off in front of Cleveland’s center. Jarrett Allen grabbed the rebound that sealed the game.
As Haliburton lay on the ground after losing his balance following the shot, he looked incredulous as disappointment set in at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Indiana missed a golden opportunity to gain momentum in a hotly contested Eastern Conference playoff race, losing 108-103 to a Cavs team that was down on All-Star guard. Donovan Mitchell and two other entries.
The Pacers started strong but quickly faded. They went nearly six minutes in the second quarter without scoring a field goal, they allowed Marcus Morris to look like a Sixth Man of the Year candidate despite starting with the Cavs on a 10-day contract and, perhaps Most worryingly, Haliburton hardly looked like the player who captivated the league during the underdog Pacers’ run to the tournament championship game in the season.
The two-time All-Star finished with a game-high 12 assists, but coughed up three turnovers and scored just 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range. Haliburton is shooting 21.3 percent since the All-Star break (13 games) and just 16.9 percent in March (nine games).
“I’ve never been through a crisis like this in my life, but it’s all part of the process,” Haliburton said before his frustration boiled over a bit. “Sh…that sucks.” Everyone has the fucking answer, but I think it’s up to me to figure out. I just have to be better, and I will be better in the future.
He has to be, or his first playoff spot will elude him. Indiana is currently the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with 13 regular season games remaining amid a campaign that looks different every step of the way. Early on, it was the Haliburton show as he returned as one of the league’s best before suffering a nagging left hamstring injury. Then there was the Pascal Siakam trade to add more star power, followed by the return of Haliburton – but not at the same superstar level – and Bénédict Mathurindeparture. The second-year guard recently tore the labrum in his right shoulder and underwent season-ending surgery Friday.
All the twists and turns have left the Pacers with a question that every playoff-caliber team asks at this point in the year: Who are we? The answer is unclear in Indiana. The Pacers have several victories against the Celtics, Deer And Knicks this season, but they also have multiple defeats against Charlotte And Torontoanother defeat against Washington and Monday’s loss to the Cavs.
“It’s tough to watch,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “You have a team that leads the league in goals and assists, and we get into stretches where we are excessively dribbling and dribbling into the crowd, not trying to move it. It’s a shame for us.
Morris hadn’t even practiced with the Cavaliers yet, and he was still more comfortable in their offense than the Pacers were on the other end. He totaled 14 points with four 3s in 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Pacers missed eight straight shots in the second quarter to squander a 13-point lead.
“Obviously, give Cleveland credit,” the backup point guard said. TJ McConnell, who provided 14 points and four assists in 21 minutes coming off the bench. “There is no disrespect towards them. Maybe a few possessions, they went into zone and they surprised us a little bit. But honestly, I think we didn’t really make any shots. I think we had some good looks, but they just didn’t go in.
Indiana was 1 of 10 on 3-pointers in the second quarter, and the team shot just 9 of 38 from behind the arc overall. The Pacers are shooting just 33.0 percent from 3 since the All-Star break, which is the second-worst mark in the league. McConnell and Carlisle didn’t seem too concerned about Indiana’s shooting struggles, but perhaps they should consider that they would currently be in the Play-In tournament after Monday’s close loss.
Siakam came alive with eight of his 19 points in the third quarter, and Haliburton added eight points in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a tipped shot that knotted the game at 103 with 2:05 to play. However, Indiana would not score another point. Carlisle and Haliburton noted their team’s unusually stagnant offense throughout the game, with Haliburton pointing the finger directly at itself.
“I think it just comes from putting guys in the right position, in the right spots, and getting them the right shots during games,” Haliburton said. “I’m just doing a better job, I think it starts with me and then it trickles down from there.”
The good news is that while Haliburton is trying to get out of his bad mood, Indiana’s defense has taken over. The Pacers’ opponents have been held to 44.7 percent shooting over their last five games, the seventh-lowest mark in the league during that span. The challenge now is to capitalize on it, as the Cavaliers did last season when they ended a four-year playoff drought.
“Nobody’s going to give it to you,” Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff said before the game. “You have to find a way to take it.”
The Pacers came in empty-handed on Monday, and if they want to end their three-year playoff drought, they can’t afford to come back empty-handed for too long.
(Photo by Tyrese Haliburton: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
