Tyrese Haliburton had an impressive performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The Indiana Pacers point guard scored 22 points, grabbed nine boards and dished out 11 assists on the night, while shooting 52.9% from the field.
Fans appreciated Bennedict Mathurin for his 27-point performance off the bench.
TJ McConnell also played a vital role as well, scoring 10 points off the bench and stealing the ball five times in the game.
The Pacers’ bench scored 49 points, which was 31 more than what the OKC Thunder‘s bench unit made.
Haliburton had a poor Game 2 performance, where he scored 17, but took only 13 shots and turned the ball over five times.
A big response was needed from him in order for the Pacers to have a chance at winning Game 3 and that is exactly what they got from their star.
Like every other team, the Pacers perform better when Tyrese Haliburton has a big night.
Although he did not have a stellar outing in Game 1, Haliburton’s game-winner over Cason Wallace helped them secure the win.
In Game 3, Haliburton put up 22 points and recorded 11 assists, which meant the Pacers won for the 20th time when the point guard scored 20+ and made 10+ assists.
The team has lost only once when Haliburton has scored over 20 or made 10+ assists in both the playoffs and regular season this year.
These numbers indicate how important he is for the team, and while Haliburton has been criticised for having a few off games, when he shows up, there are not many players who can outperform him.
Haliburton was named as one of the most overrated players in the NBA earlier.
However, Myles Turner stated that Haliburton’s playoff run has proven that to be a false statement.
He has been averaging 18.6 PPG and 9.4 APG, while making some big clutch shots for the team.
Despite his brilliance, Haliburton has heard a lot of criticism, however, he revealed how he kept the focus on his game rather than listening to the outside noise.
“I couldn’t care less honestly what do they really know about basketball,” said Haliburton when talking about critics on television.
“Just seeing what I can be better is the most important, having that reflection of myself, I talk a lot with my trainer Drew and coach Carlisle and all those guys, it’s a constant conversation where I can get better.
“There’s gonna be ebbs and flows, I’m never gonna be super great and shoot so many shots consistently, there’ll be games where I don’t and I gotta be able to find the right balance between the two, but experience is the best way I can learn from it,” Haliburton added.
