Haliburton follows triple-double with single digits as Pacers fail in 1st attempt to clinch

By Brian Mahoney

Tyrese Haliburton followed his historic triple-double by getting held to single digits in everything.

With a passive performance from their playmaker, the Indiana Pacers failed in their first attempt to earn the second NBA Finals trip in franchise history, falling 111-94 to the New York Knicks in Game 5 on Thursday night.

They will need Haliburton to be much closer to the player who dominated Game 4 than the one who managed only two baskets in Game 5 when they try again at home Saturday.

Haliburton had 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds and no turnovers in Game 4, the first 30-15-10 in the postseason since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78.

But he was limited to eight points, six assists and two rebounds Thursday. The All-NBA point guard didn't even have a basket in the first half, when the Pacers' total of 45 points was just two more than the had in the first quarter of Game 4.

The Knicks cut down on some of the mistakes they made in Game 4 that allowed Haliburton and the Pacers to get their transition game going. And they were much sharper in the halfcourt, rarely letting him penetrate into the lane to set up opportunities for himself of his teammates.

Without that, the Pacers were held to their lowest point total of the postseason and shot just 40.5% from the field.