Being labeled as overrated may have lit a fire under Tyrese Haliburton and in turn, the Indiana Pacers. Since The Athletic’s anonymous player poll was released, Haliburton and the Pacers have won four of their last five games, with the last one bringing them up two games over the Cleveland Cavaliers heading back to Indiana.
Game 1 was a Haliburton playmaking masterclass, but Game 2 revealed that he’s not afraid to seize the moment and snatch the win. The Cavs were playing with the sense of urgency you’d expect from a team that lost home-court advantage, but the Pacers were undeterred. Indiana was down by 20 points not once but twice, and yet the Pacers were undeterred. Haliburton was at the forefront of that attack, scoring 11 points in the final quarter with none being more important than the four he scored against Cleveland in the last 12 seconds of Game 2.
To some, Game 2 was a choke job from the Cavs. They were missing Evan Mobley, DeAndre Hunter, and Darius Garland, but then again, injuries aren’t really an excuse at this point in the season, especially for a Cleveland team that has thrived even when undermanned. Moreover, Donovan Mitchell had his best game of the postseason so far so it wasn’t as if the Cavs simply opened the door for Indiana to score at will. Haliburton simply took matters into his own hands.
Looking at the bigger picture, Haliburton’s scoring could be the catalyst in the series. The two-time NBA All-Star is averaging 10.7 assists in the 2025 NBA Playoffs and it has been instrumental in the Pacers having the best offense in the postseason so far. Whether he’s playing in Indiana or on the road, Haliuburton’s passing has been a constant that has elevated his team’s play. His scoring, though, is a tale of two sides.
Regardless of whether at home or on the road, Haliburton averages around 18 to 19 points per game, but his efficiency dips in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Previously, it didn’t really matter against the Milwaukee Bucks, but the 25-year old will need to be at his best in order to snuff out any momentum Cleveland looks to gain. Haliburton does not need to score points in bunches the way Mitchell, Nikola Jokic, and Anthony Edwards have piled on the points. After all, his playmaking has allowed him to spread the touches among his teammates while giving him the opportunities to attack when the opportunities arise.
With the way Tyrese Haliburton has been playing this postseason, it can be said that big scoring nights are overrated. Time and time again we’ve seen players score a bevy of points only to come up short of the goal, which is to win. Haliburton won’t drop 30 on a nightly basis, and that’s fine, because when a win is hanging in the balance, best believe that he will have the final say.
