A day after Tyrese Haliburton scored an uncharacteristic six points in a Game 1 loss to the Knicks, the Pacers’ star point guard downplayed the significance of his nagging back injury.
Haliburton, 24, was listed as questionable before Monday’s 121-117 nail-biter, and while he played the second-most minutes on the Pacers with 36, he attempted only six shots — nine fewer than he averaged in the regular season.
“Everybody’s going through something right now,” Haliburton, who finished 2-for-6, said at practice Tuesday. “It’s the second round of the playoffs. I’ll be fine.”
Haliburton started experiencing lower back spasms before Game 4 of the Pacers’ opening-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. He was listed as questionable for the final three games of that series, which the Pacers won in six, but played at least 32 minutes and scored at least 16 points in each.
Primarily guarded in Monday’s loss by the Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo, Haliburton vowed Tuesday to be more aggressive in Wednesday night’s Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.
“They’re a good defensive team, but honestly, I look at it more as a Tyrese issue than a Knicks issue,” Haliburton said of his low scoring output. “I’ll be better in Game 2.”
Haliburton, a two-time All-Star, averaged 20.1 points and 10.9 assists per game in the regular season, though his numbers dipped after he returned from a hamstring strain in January.
Through seven playoff games, Haliburton is averaging 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds. His eight assists on Monday led the Pacers, though he was the only starter on either team who didn’t score in double-figures.
“I’ve got to do a better job of getting him more shots,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said Tuesday. “I’ll give you that. Look, he’s playing through some stuff. He’ll be on the injury report as questionable [for Game 2] with the back thing. I’m confident he’ll play, but he’s playing through some stuff there, too. This is the second round of the playoffs, and this is hard. You’ve got to embrace the difficulty of the whole thing.”
Haliburton attempted only one shot and scored only two points in the second half of Monday’s loss. Five Pacers took more shots than Haliburton, while two others matched his six.
“He’s the engine of the team,” Indiana forward Pascal Siakam said. “He gets everyone in their spots. Things that make him great are not just scoring. He can do a lot of other things, and when he is at his pace and playing fast, he doesn’t have to be scoring. He leads our team in that way, and he’s been doing that all year.”
Magnifying Haliburton’s lack of scoring was that the Knicks’ star point guard, Jalen Brunson, exploded for 43 points — his fourth consecutive playoff game with at least 40.
Carlisle declined to consider whether Haliburton would be playing through the back issue if this were the regular season.
“This time of year, everybody’s got something going,” Carlisle said. “He’s working at it, doing everything he can to keep himself feeling as good as possible. It’s a factor, but he’ll play. I’m confident he’ll play, but it’s a concern.”
