Tyrese Haliburton after subpar performance in Game 3: 'I'll be better in Game 4'

Indianapolis Star

27-04-2025

MILWAUKEE -- The Bucks came out of the first two games of their series with the Pacers believing they'd made life too easy on them, especially on their point guard-center ball screen duo Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner.
The Pacers' stalwarts didn't have their best games in Game 1 and 2 but they were productive enough to be a problem. Haliburton was 3 of 13 from the floor and 0 of 7 from 3 in Game 1, but he was still impactful with 12 assists against one turnover and +27 plus-minus rating, and he came back in Game 2 with 21 points and 12 assists. Turner scored a combined 34 points in Games 1 and 2 and was 13 of 22 from the floor, 5 of 9 from 3-point range.
And when Haliburton and Turner get to do what they want, opportunities generally open up for others. When teams have to commit 2-3 defenders to containing them on pick-and-rolls or pick-and-pops, there are usually clean looks to be had from 3-point range for others as well as opportunities in the paint.
The Bucks decided that couldn't be the case again in Game 3.
"Watch the first two games," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Saturday after a film session. "This is all of us. They'd catch the ball. We'd stay back. I told our guys it was like they were having shootaround."
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On Friday night in Game 3 in a 117-101 win that makes the series 2-1 going into Sunday's Game 4 at 9:30 p.m. Eastern at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum, the Bucks made things harder on the Pacers' entire roster, but on Haliburton and Turner in particular. Turner had a brutal evening scoring just six points on 1-of-9 shooting including 0-of-6 from 3-point range with four turnovers. Haliburton's stat line didn't look bad — 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, 10 assists, one turnover — but two late 3-pointers when the game was already effectively decided made it look better than it was.
Both men left the game feeling like they had opportunities to do more. Haliburton not only missed some makeable 3s, but he felt like he too frequently passed the ball away when he got two feet in the paint. He was usually deterred from going to the rim when he found himself staring down the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo with his 7-3 wingspan. Not trying to test the two-time MVP and five-time All-Defensive team pick is a reasonable decision to make, but Haliburton felt like there were moments when he was still too passive.
"He does a great job of roaming," Haliburton said Friday night. "He's a great rim protector so, being cognizant of that, but I still have to be more aggressive. I feel like I probably passed out of too many tonight, floaters and stuff like that."
Turner found it hard to operate in the lane with Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez but his 3-point opportunities were wide open, some extremely so, and his aim on those was simply off.
"I loved my shots tonight," Turner said, referring to the looks he got, not the actual execution. "I missed. It is what it is. I trust my shots and I'm going to be shooting the same shots."
Still, the Bucks were able to generally break up the Pacers' usual processes, especially in the second half. Haliburton had just two second-half assists and the back-to-back 3-pointers he hit with late in the fourth quarter came when the Pacers were already down more than 15 and had effectively run out of time. Turner scored just two second-half points and didn't have a second-half field goal. The Pacers as a whole were 16-of-40 from the floor in the second half and were outscored 70-44 after the break.
"I just think we found what we should have been doing," Rivers said. "We didn't just let them catch the ball. We didn't just let them DHO (dribble hand-off.). We blew up DHOs."
Rivers' decision to move Gary Trent Jr. into the starting lineup for Taurean Price was helpful, too. His 37 points on nine 3-pointers were his most noteworthy contributions, but he also picked him up defensively at the point of attack.
"We made changes that I'm not going to talk about but we were into the bodies and we were trying to keep them out of the paint as much as possible," Rivers said. "Turning Haliburton and trying to get him not to be such a good passer and being directional was very important."
Turner and Haliburton both know they have to find a way to counter, Haliburton in particular. The Bucks forced them out of a lot of things they like to do, including getting rolling in transition. They have to figure out how to do it again anyway.
"We have to do a better job of getting downhill, playing faster," Haliburton said. "It starts with me. I have to be better. I'll be better in Game 4."