Tyrese Haliburton Scoring Just 4 Points after Cavs Punked Pacers Has Fans Losing it – “Mr. Inconsistency”

Tyrese Haliburton's heroics in the playoffs so far placed the Indiana Pacers in a good spot with a 2-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tyrese Haliburton Scoring Just 4 Points after Cavs Punked Pacers Has Fans Losing it – “Mr. Inconsistency”

Tyrese Haliburton scored just 4 points in Game 3 (Image via FirstSportz)

Tyrese Haliburton led his Indiana Pacers to a surprising 2-0 series lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They led Game 1 from the start and overcame a deficit to win Game 2 at the buzzer. Today, they were about to face the East leaders back at their home court in Indianapolis.

The crowd packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse wearing yellow ‘Boom Baby’ t-shirts and cheered the team right from the start. They hoped that Haliburton would continue his stellar form throughout these playoffs and get win No. 3 at home.

But soon, that noise started to die down as the Cavaliers blitzed them to take a commanding lead. At halftime, the away team was up by 21 points, and the Pacers looked lost. But the Pacers came out of the second half fighting to reduce that deficit.

They brought the gap down to 15 in the third quarter, and continued to reduce that until eight minutes were left in the fourth. Now, the Pacers fans were as loud as they could be, egging their team on to repeat their Game 2 heroics.

But Donovan Mitchell was on a mission, and he, along with his teammates, continued to score, which again increased the gap. At one point, they almost built up a 30-point gap, leaving the Pacers hapless, and they lost the game 104-126.

Tyrese Haliburton scored just four points, a measly outing considering how he has performed so far. The rest of his teammates also could not fare much better, with just Bennedict Mathurin scoring more than 20 points. Now the Pacers have to rethink their strategy against the fully healthy Cavaliers.

Fans tear into Tyrese Haliburton for miserable outing

The Indiana Pacers collectively had no answer to the way the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated them. However, basketball fans took exception to Tyrese Haliburton‘s performance. Four points of 25% shooting, 5 assists, and 3 turnovers is nothing like how he usually performs in the regular season.

These stats gave fans the idea that he did not have the drive to get into scoring positions. Neither did he take the game seriously enough. Fans believe such performances bring back the idea that he might be overrated after all. Even if he is not, fans believe such inconsistency is not what is expected of a superstar. Check out examples of those comments below.

If the Indiana Pacers are to get a stronghold on this series, they now have to regroup and figure out how to win Game 4. They will again have their fans cheering them, which should be added motivation along with this humiliating loss. The Pacers have a chance to seemingly control the series if they win Game 4.

Donovan Mitchell continued his Game 2 domination

Tyrese Haliburton may have fizzled out in Game 3, but his opposing number, Donovan Mitchell, did not want another loss on his plate. He took charge from the off and resorted to some acrobatic maneuvers to finish around the rim.

Donovan Mitchell dominated Game 3
Donovan Mitchell dominated Game 3 (Image via Yahoo Sports/X)

Even when the Indiana Pacers started to take their frustrations out on, instead of fighting back, Mitchell used that to continue his explosive game. His 43-point performance seemingly took care of three Pacers starters on his own.

Since he did what basketball fans expected him to do, his teammates, especially those who were returning from injury, could play their game without any pressure. This performance might have shifted the momentum of this series.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers can use this momentum to win Game 4, the series is back in their hands. Then they will head back home for Game 5 and can take the series lead back from the Pacers. That is the only way they can continue on their goal to win the NBA title for the first time since LeBron James did in 2016.

Also Read: