Haliburton lets slip on how to defeat Pacers after OKC Game 2 loss

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton was in a critical mood after his side’s defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

The 25-year-old spoke to the media in the aftermath of the 123-107 game which saw a hugely promising response from the Thunder; they had been shellshocked in Game 1, with Haliburton the key figure in a comeback for the ages. In Game 2, he was unable to replicate such ferocity and a slow start - yet again - was one step too far.

“This is who they are defensively,” reiterated Haliburton, touching on the theme of the Thunder’s defence, a key component in what has made them so strong throughout the season. “They got a lot of different guys who can guard the ball, fly around.”

Haliburton ‘got to figure out’ main weakness

Haliburton, in the first half, was almost non-existent, managing only 3 points and 3 assists on 1-of-5 shooting. This poor opening half of the game was something he acknowledged as an apparent achilles heel, saying that "I just got to figure out how to be better earlier in games. Kudos to them, they’re a great defensive team. But [I will] watch the film, see where I can get better.”

“Our offence is built from the inside out,” he said before admitting that “we got to do a better job getting downhill. They collapse and then make plays there, but I thought we could improve a lot there. But they’re flying around. They got great point-of-attack defenders. They got great rim protectors. They’re a great defence.”

The two-time NBA All-Star, of course, kept to his winning mentality, despite sounding deflated: “Through the course of a series, even in the games that you lose, you’re trying to learn from them, see where you can get better."

In the final quarter, as happened in Game 1, Haliburton managed to finally find a way out of the cage and put away 12 points. “We had some success there”, he admitted, “me playing off the pitch a little bit more, flying around rather than if I’m in that high ball screen, which I feel like I am really successful at, but that gives them a chance to really load up, pack the paint.”

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“There are many different ways that you can choose to digest what’s in front of you,” Haliburton said, a little more upbeat. “We just focus on taking it a day at a time. You got the split. You feel good about that. But we definitely wanted to play better tonight.”

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