Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Talks 'Frustrating' Game 4 NBA Finals Loss vs. SGA, Thunder
Tyrese Haliburton remains confident in the Indiana Pacers' ability to rebound in the NBA Finals after their Game 4 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he also acknowledged their missed opportunity on Friday night.
Speaking to reporters following the 111-104 defeat, Haliburton called it a "frustrating" game for the Pacers before looking ahead to Game 5:
"As a team, you have to be ready to respond. You've just got to be able to respond when your back is against the wall, and that's where we are right now. That's a frustrating loss, but as a group, I still have a lot of confidence in ourselves. We've got to be ready to go and fight for 48 minutes. It's going to be a challenge, but this group has been resilient all year. I wouldn't want to go to war with any other group."
The Pacers started the game carrying over their momentum from Wednesday's win. They put up 35 points in the opening quarter and 60 in the first half against Oklahoma City's stout defense.
Even in the third quarter, they opened up a 10-point lead at 86-76 with 2:08 remaining. Oklahoma City was able to get the deficit down to seven going into the fourth and put up 31 points in the final 12 minutes.
The Pacers were outscored in the second half 54-44, marking the first time all series the Thunder won the last two quarters of a game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, showing off his MVP bonafides, scored 11 of the final 12 points for Oklahoma City and dropped 35 overall in 40 minutes.
Indiana's 17 points in the fourth were its fewest in a quarter since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers (13 in the second quarter).
Haliburton has been out of sorts against the Thunder in the series. He has committed at least three turnovers in all four games. His 17 turnovers in the series is seven more than he had in six games against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite missing the chance to take a 3-1 lead, the Pacers are still in a good spot moving forward. They haven't lost back-to-back games a three-game skid from March 8-10.
If the Pacers can keep that streak going, they will win the NBA championship because Oklahoma City still has to win two of the next three games.
The Finals will shift back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
