Tyrese Haliburton didn’t shy away from accountability after the Indiana Pacers dropped Game 5 to the New York Knicks on Thursday night, 111-94.
The Pacers guard, who had just eight points and six assists in 31 minutes, spoke candidly postgame, emphasizing his responsibility in setting the tone.
“Yeah, rough night for me. I got to be better—setting the tone, getting downhill,” Haliburton said. “I didn’t do a great job of that.”
Indiana’s starters struggled collectively, and Haliburton acknowledged the group failed to match New York’s intensity.
“We weren’t great as a group,” he admitted. “We turned the ball over too much, didn’t rebound to our ability.”
The Knicks forced 20 turnovers and held Indiana to 40.5% shooting, marking the Pacers’ lowest output of the series.
Jalen Brunson’s 32-point effort helped New York dominate early, and their defensive adjustments created problems throughout.
“They picked up the pressure a little bit more,” Haliburton explained. “They did a better job applying pressure, switched some things up, saw some blitzes, and Brunson’s shows were harder.”
Asked whether the Knicks’ more aggressive style caught him off guard, Haliburton said he expected the increased urgency.
“We’re up 3–1, their season’s on the line,” he said. “So, understand they’re going to come out and play hard, increase the pressure.”
Despite the lopsided loss, Haliburton pointed to Indiana’s proven ability to bounce back, having not lost consecutive games since March.
“We’re a resilient group,” he said. “There’s no need to panic or anything. It’s a tough loss… but we’re fine.”
Haliburton stressed the importance of defensive stops to fuel Indiana’s transition offense, something that was lacking in Game 5.
“Our pace definitely goes down when we’re taking the ball out of the rim the whole game,” he noted. “We got to get stops.”
The Pacers will return to Indianapolis for Game 6 with another chance to secure their first NBA Finals berth since 2000.
Haliburton emphasized that film review will be key to making adjustments before Saturday night’s elimination matchup.
“I’m going to be all over the film,” he said. “We’ll look at it all as a group and see where we can improve for Game 6.”
When asked about smiling after the game, Haliburton said it reflected his belief in the team’s ability to respond.
“I have the most confidence in myself and our group to play to our ability in Game 6,” he said. “We’ll be prepared.”
