Locked on Pacers: Pacers lose to Thunder with Tyrese Haliburton fading into background

Locked on Pacers: Pacers lose to Thunder with Tyrese Haliburton fading into background

The Indiana Pacers had a chance to knock off the Western Conference’s top seed, but they were unable to accomplish the job against the Oklahoma City Thunder, losing 120-114.

After a terrific first quarter in which the Pacers led 29-19, SGA took over, scoring 45 points on 15 of 22 shooting. Meanwhile, Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton was virtually invisible for much of the game, finishing with only six shot attempts and four points as Indiana elected to run its offense via Andrew Nembhard as the primary ballhandler in an attempt to be more unpredictable, according to Rick Carlisle. To the Pacers’ credit, the game was knotted at 107 with just over two minutes left, but OKC closed it out with its hero.

The Thunder had only three turnovers, making it only the fourth time in the last 40 years that a Pacers opponent had less than four turnovers in a game, according to Basketball Reference. While the Pacers dominated the rebounding battle and only turned the ball over 11 times, the combination of SGA going nuclear, Haliburton being invisible, and the Thunder scoring 17 points off those mistakes proved too much to overcome in the end.

• I joined Tony East on Locked on Pacers to discuss the game and the Pacers’ current state. You can watch it below or listen to it anywhere you usually listen to podcasts. The Pacers’ strategy of primarily running the offense through Andrew Nembhard instead of Tyrese Haliburton. Obi Toppin’s injury and how Jarace Walker stepped up with some massive plays in his absence. The Pacers’ 5-game win streak comes to an end, but is this a loss?