Tyrese Haliburton Denies Avoiding Media After Pacers' G3, 'I Don't Run From Anything'
Tyrese Haliburton said it wasn't his idea to decline interviews Friday night after posting four points in the Indiana Pacers' blowout Game 3 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"I talk to y’all almost after every game. If I’m not made available, it’s not always my decision. I can’t control it," Haliburton said on Saturday afternoon (h/t the Indianapolis Star's Dustin Dopirak.) "I mean, you’re talking to me now, so any question you have about the game last night, you can ask me right now. I was not made available last night."
Haliburton continued, "I don’t run away from any questions. I went through harder times than last night, so whatever you have to ask, I’ll be there. And if there’s commentary around me not talking last night, people are more than allowed to come and approach me and have a conversation with me about it.
"I can’t control it. I can't control everything, but again, I don’t run from anything.”
The Pacers still lead their second-round series 2-1 after claiming two wins in Cleveland.
The Athletic's James Boyd initially reported Friday night that Pacers PR did not make Haliburton available after the Game 3 loss.
Multiple beat writers including Dopirak noted it was rare for Haliburton not to speak to the media after a Pacers loss.
Haliburton was in fact recently celebrated by the Professional Basketball Writers' Association as a member of the 2024-25 All-Interview second team for being "consistently thoughtful, insightful and engaging with the media."
His absence on Friday was notable mostly because it came after the worst shooting performance of his playoff career.
After averaging 21 points through the first two games of the series, Haliburton contributed just four while going 2-for-8 from the field and 0-for-1 from deep in 30 minutes of the blowout Game 3 loss.
Haliburton added five assists while making three turnovers as Indiana missed out on the chance to take a three-game series lead over the top seed in the East.
When asked Saturday how he felt about the home loss, Haliburton answered, "The sun came up this morning, so."
"It's unfortunate," Haliburton continued. "Didn't have a very good performance last night. But it's more film for me to look at, more stuff for me to figure out, and it's all part of the process. Understand it's not what I want to see from myself, not what, I'm sure, anybody wants to see from me.
"But I'll take it on the chin. I'll be better next time."
The Pacers will need another big game from Haliburton in order to overcome Evan Mobley's defense and answer Donovan Mitchell's scoring when the series returns to Indiana on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET.
