As the final moments of the Oklahoma City Thunder`s 123-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals elapsed, the television broadcast focused on a visibly dejected Tyrese Haliburton seated on the bench. The player who shone in Game 1 could only sit and observe as the Thunder successfully leveled the series at 1-1.
Haliburton`s final statistics for Game 2—17 points, three rebounds, six assists, two steals, two blocks, and five turnovers, shooting 7 of 13 in 34 minutes—might not seem particularly noteworthy, either good or bad, to someone who didn`t watch the game.
However, statistics rarely provide a complete picture for any player, and this is especially true for Haliburton. Typically, his influence on the game extends far beyond what the numbers alone indicate. On Sunday, though, the situation was reversed. Despite achieving similar or even slightly better statistics than in Game 1 (more points, better field goal percentage, same assists), Haliburton was largely ineffective.
Most of Haliburton`s scoring and assists occurred in the fourth quarter, a period that was essentially garbage time with the Thunder holding a lead of more than 20 points. Through the first three quarters, he recorded just five points, three rebounds, and four assists before adding 12 points and two assists late in the game.
As Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stated, “There`s much more to the game than just scoring. Everyone needs to contribute more. It starts with the top players, starting with Tyrese, Pascal [Siakam], and Myles [Turner], and extends to the rest of the team. People shouldn`t simply look at [Haliburton`s] points and assists to judge his performance… that`s not how our team functions. We operate as an interconnected system that must work together.”
Early in the game, just over three minutes in, Luguentz Dort was tightly guarding Haliburton near mid-court, even when he didn`t possess the ball. A few minutes later, after Haliburton came off a screen, Dort was right in his face, leaping to disrupt a pass attempt (the possession ultimately resulted in a turnover).
Haliburton`s first turnover personally occurred late in the opening quarter when he received the ball near mid-court and kept backing up under pressure from Alex Caruso. He eventually ran out of space and stepped onto the half-court line, leading to an over-and-back violation.
The Thunder`s defensive strategy consistently denied Haliburton the opportunity to settle into a rhythm. Consequently, the Pacers found themselves trailing by double digits early in the second quarter, a deficit they were unable to recover from this time.
Haliburton himself commented on the defensive challenge: “This is characteristic of their defense. They have numerous players capable of guarding the ball and moving actively. They play very physically, which forces the officials to permit more contact. I just need to handle that pressure more effectively. I`ve had two quite poor first halves. I need to find a way to start better earlier. But credit to them, they are an excellent defensive team.”
It was also observed that Haliburton walked with a slight limp after his postgame press conference. While he hasn`t appeared on the injury report, and the cause of his discomfort is unknown, his health could become a key factor heading into Game 3 in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
The Pacers will require a much more impactful performance from Haliburton in Game 3 if they hope to defend their home court successfully. This will be considerably more challenging if he isn`t fully healthy, particularly against the Thunder`s tenacious defense.
Across four games against Oklahoma City during the 2024-25 season, including both regular season matchups and the first two Finals games, Haliburton has averaged just 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists.
Jasper Hawthorne