The Pacers were merely minutes away from gaining a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. All they had to do was hold on to their seven-point fourth quarter lead and not let OKC make a comeback. But unlike their previous playoff encounters, where Tyrese Haliburton and Co. utilized their fast pace and playmaking to their advantage, they failed to get anything going on offense late in tonight’s game. As a result, they got outscored 31-17 in the fourth quarter, and OKC stole a crucial win on the road.
As expected, Haliburton was not pleased with his group’s performance and expressed frustration during the postgame presser, “Yeah, we gotta do a better job. I gotta do a better job of keeping pace in the game. Thought I did a much better job of that last game, you know specially down the stretch, keeping pace, getting rebounds and really pushing. I think we gotta do a better job of when we do get stops, getting out and running.”
In Game 3, Haliburton was in complete control of the Pacers’ offense, as he dropped a 22-point double-double. Not only was it his highest scoring game of this series, but he also created several open baskets for his teammates. But tonight, he was unable to deliver when his team needed him the most. Throughout the entire fourth quarter, Pacers had only one assist, mainly due to Hali’s struggles. He continued, “Lot of times in that fourth, we were fouling too much, taking the ball out, having to kind of run something versus just random basketball. So, I gotta do a better job there.”
Sure enough, the Pacers star was also unhappy about giving away a seven-point lead despite the home court advantage, “Frustrating of course. You want to win that game. Especially a game at home where like you said, you have the lead late. But that’s not just how the cookie crumbled today… 17-point fourth quarter after offensive success we had all game I think it really shows we gotta do a better job moving the ball. And I think that starts with me.” Even Pacers’ lucky charm Caitlin Clark could not save them tonight.
(Developing Story)
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