Indiana Pacers Head Coach Explains Tyrese Haliburton Struggles vs Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Indiana Pacers down the stretch of the fourth quarter to pull out a win after being outplayed for the vast majority of the contest. The Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, no showed, which is easy to explain, according to the head coach.

Dec 26, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) dribbles the ball while Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder faced off with the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night in a game that saw the OKC Thunder come back from down 15. That win secured the Thunder's ninth straight and put a stamp on superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP case.

In this contest, one of the biggest storylines was former All-Star, Tyrese Haliburton, being a no show, posting four points, eight assists and two rebounds on just 2-for-6 shooting. if Indiana got more from its star, they would have pushed their record to above .500 in an upset win. Instead, a dud performance led to questions.

"They committed Lu Dort to him. He's as good of a defender as any guy in the league," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said when peppered with questions as to why Haliburton only attempted six shots in a dreadful offensive showing.

Despite Dort's defensive dominance, the guard has yet to be named to an NBA All-Defensive team. Oklahoma City's historic unit includes a two-time all-defensive member Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when healthy. For this game, it was just Wallace and Dort doing damage against Haliburton.

Continuing to lock down opposing all-stars and forcing the head of their bench boss to praise his efforts, could land Dort on his first all-defensive squad at the end of the season.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.