Tyrese Haliburton's series of mini-victories, including over a heckler, guide Indiana Pacers to win vs Cavaliers
CLEVELAND — Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton was fighting all weekend to earn the Indiana Pacers a win on Saturday in Cleveland. He had to fight an illness, a member of the crowd, and perhaps the most difficult opponent, himself.
Come Saturday, it wasn't even a certainty that Haliburton was going to play against the Cavaliers. He had a stomach ailment that kept him out of practice entirely on Friday, and he was listed questionable to play over the weekend.
It was just your standard stomach bug, and Haliburton got through it enough to be able to play. He was upbeat in the locker room before the game, joking with his teammates about their pregame meals. He was ready. Fight number one, complete.
Haliburton started the game, and he played over nine minutes of the first quarter. But he wasn't productive and couldn't get going. He was 1/5 from the field in the opening frame with two points and four assists. His passing was sharp, but he was off.
That allowed the Cavaliers to jump all over the blue and gold. After seven minutes of play, they led by 15 points. Even though Haliburton was good to go from a health standpoint, he didn't look right early.
His team rallied and led 60-49 at halftime. The All-Star guard had two points at the break on 1/6 shooting. He was filling up the stat sheet in the rebound and assist departments, but Haliburton wasn't having the game he is accustomed to.
He could tell that his performance was off. He didn't feel like himself. "I'm going through these phases in games right now where I'm coasting a little bit," Haliburton recalled texting skills trainer Drew Hanlen about the issue he's been having. "I'm not trying to, and I don't feel like that in the moment. But when I watch, I'm like 'I've got to get myself going'," he added. He's been disappointed with his performances in first halves this season — he's scored seven total points in them.
It was time for fight number two for Tyrese Haliburton. He had to fight himself. He needed to stop coasting and turn into a scoring force, especially with the Cavs mounting a second-half comeback.
He had eight points and three assists in the third quarter, but it wasn't enough to put away Cleveland yet. Haliburton wasn't floating anymore. But he needed to be a little better to put the game away.
"I've got to be better for us to win games," Haliburton said of his issues "coasting." He wants to be consistently impactful.
Cleveland got the Pacers lead down to four when Haliburton returned to the game in the final frame. There were 7 minutes and 22 seconds to go. The Pacers closer from last season was going to have to be great down the stretch.
He scored in 24 seconds with a tough layup over third-place Defensive Player of the Year finisher Evan Mobley. Less than two minutes later, he found Andrew Nmbhard with a crafty pass to the baseline for his 12th assist. Indiana was up seven. Haliburton looked more like himself and was about to put the Cavs away. Fight number two, complete.
The game grinded to a half in the final quarter, a style that plays right into Cleveland's hands. Indiana wants to play fast — it's their identity. But they couldn't against this Cavs team.
That allowed for one more mini comeback from the home team, who trimmed the lead all the way down to two at 109-107. Haliburton, the team's best player, needed to close them out.
Insert fight number three, this time with a member of the Cavs crowd. Someone sitting courtside opposite the team's bench areas was heckling Haliburton in the fourth quarter.
"He told me to basically stop whining," Haliburton said.
The All-Star guard heard him, and suddenly was more motivated than ever. With 3:43 to go, Haliburton drilled a three from the right wing. On his way back down to play defense, he pumped his arms downward as if to tell the crowd to calm down.
30 seconds later, Haliburton hit a triple from the exact same spot, and 27 seconds after that second three, he made a third from there. Haliburton scored nine points in 57 seconds to expand the Pacers lead to 10. They never looked back and won the game.
Haliburton defeated the heckling fan for his third and final battle of the day. "That’s your fault, you did this!" He shouted at the spectator. Haliburton went 3-0 and helped the Pacers get to 2-0 on the season.
"I needed some external motivation to get myself going," Haliburton said in the locker room postgame. "Every three from there was just... needed to talk to him to get myself going."
Haliburton finished with 21 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds in the win. That's quite the statline for a player who thought they weren't being impactful for much of the game. He's had a terrific start to the season.
Indiana is now 2-0, one of four unbeaten Eastern Conference teams. They look solid to start the season, and Haliburton's play is a big part of that. His next fight is with the Chicago Bulls Monday night in Indianapolis.
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