As the final minutes passed in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 123-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals, the camera showed a forlorn Tyrese Haliburton on the bench. The star of Game 1 had to sit by as the Thunder leveled the series at 1-1.

Haliburton finished the game with a box score that, to an unobservant viewer, might seem decent: 17 points, three rebounds, six assists, two steals, two blocks, and five turnovers on 7-of-13 shooting in 34 minutes. However, statistics do not capture the complete narrative, especially for Haliburton, who typically excels in orchestrating the game.

In contrast, his performance this game was lackluster. The bulk of his stats were gathered in the fourth quarter when the Thunder were already ahead by over 20 points. Haliburton scored a mere five points with three rebounds and four assists in the first three quarters, but added 12 points and two assists during garbage time.

Rick Carlisle, Pacers coach: “There’s a lot more to the game than just scoring. Everybody’s gotta do more. Starts with the best players, starts with Tyrese and [Pascal Siakam] and [Myles Turner]. People shouldn’t just look at [Haliburton’s] points and assists and judge how he played. That’s not how our team is built. We’re an ecosystem that has to function together.”

Just over three minutes into the game, Haliburton found himself closely guarded by Luguentz Dort even when he didn’t have the ball. Moments later, he was attempting to evade Dort off a screen when he turned the ball over after being pressured.

The Thunder’s defense left little room for Haliburton to find his rhythm, causing the Pacers to fall behind early in the second quarter, a gap they couldn’t bridge.

Tyrese Haliburton: “This is who they are defensively. They have various players who can guard the ball. They’re really physical and force the officials to allow more contact. I need to play through that better. I have to figure out how to start strong. Kudos to them for being a great defensive team.”

Following his postgame press conference, Haliburton left with a slight limp. His health remains a concern heading into Game 3 in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

Haliburton’s numbers against Oklahoma City this season (both regular and finals) average only 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists.