Tyrese Haliburton is embracing the need to be better Wednesday night and the pressure he is facing following an ineffectual Game 1 against the Knicks.
The All-Star point guard managed eight assists but was limited to just six points and six field-goal attempts in 36 minutes in the Pacers’ series-opening loss Monday night at the Garden.
“They’re a good defensive team, but honestly, I look at it as a Tyrese issue more than a Knicks issue, so I’ll be better in Game 2,” Haliburton said after the Pacers practiced Tuesday in Manhattan. “I think that every player in the league who’s a scorer and a high-usage guy passes the ball a lot. It’s a balance we all have to find.
“It’s not easy, but obviously I erred on the side of playmaking this day and that wasn’t the right decision for me, so I still got to be who I am.”
The 24-year-old Haliburton has emerged as one of the best point guards in the NBA, scoring 20.1 points per game and leading the league in assists (10.9) during the regular season.
Those numbers dipped to 16.0 and 9.3 in the first round win over the Bucks in the first playoff series of Haliburton’s four-year pro career.
He has been dealing with a back issue and is listed as questionable for the second straight game.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle admitted “it’s a concern,” but Haliburton dismissed it by saying “everybody’s going through something right now.”
“I mean, it’s everything I’ve ever asked for. I want to play high-level basketball. I’ve always wanted to play in the playoffs, so I’m here, you know what I mean?” Haliburton said. “The world ain’t ending because we lost one game.
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“I understand that we have an opportunity to get another one and go home 1-1, so I’m not hitting a panic button or alarm or anything. Just as a competitor, what more could you ask for than playing in the playoffs? Playing in Madison Square Garden, there’s nothing like it. So I’m embracing all of it and enjoying every second of it.”
Tom Thibodeau mostly used Donte DiVincenzo as the primary defender on Haliburton in Game 1, just as the shooting guard had locked down Tyrese Maxey in Game 6 of the Knicks’ first-round elimination of the 76ers.
“I don’t want to take away from what they do defensively. They’re a really good defensive team with a lot of different weapons and we all know Thibs is one of the best defensive minds for the last decade plus,” Haliburton said. “So it’s adjustments that I have to make and we have to make as a group and we will [in Game 2].“[I have to] be more aggressive, be myself. I just felt like even in Game 1 of the last series [against Milwaukee], I wasn’t myself, just lack of aggression, my energy was and everything was off [Monday], so I’ll be better in Game 2.”