From Control to Caught Flat-Footed: Pacers Suddenly Under Pressure

“I don’t run away from any questions,” Haliburton said Saturday, one day after Indiana got blitzed early and never recovered, via Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “I went through harder times than last night. Whatever you have to ask, I’ll be there.”

The Pacers called it a team decision not to make him available postgame, Dopirak noted. And while the optics were a little awkward after Haliburton finished with just four points and five assists on 2-of-8 shooting, he made it clear Saturday that the absence wasn’t about hiding.

“If there’s commentary around me not talking last night, people are more than allowed to approach me and have a conversation with me about it,” he added. “I can’t control everything, but I don’t run from anything.”

What Cleveland did do was run him ragged. The Cavs, who dropped the first two games, made Haliburton a focal point in Game 3 — face-guarding him nearly the entire night and deploying a 3-2 zone with 7-footer Evan Mobley at the top. It worked. Haliburton had four of his shots blocked, including two by Mobley, and never found a rhythm.

“It’s an interesting dynamic, right?” Haliburton said of the zone. “A lot of teams don’t play a 3-2 and they don’t play with a 7-footer at the top. We just have to figure out how to go at it.”

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle didn’t mince words either, calling the team’s Game 3 effort “very poor” and pointing the finger squarely at himself.

“I didn’t have these guys ready,” Carlisle said. “Ty had a rough game. I got to do more to get him involved.”

The Pacers were hit with five technicals on the night, but Carlisle refused to blame the refs.

“This wasn’t on the officials,” he said. “This is us not playing with enough presence, posture, disposition — whatever you want to call it.”

Myles Turner briefly exited with a rolled ankle but returned and said he’ll be fine for Game 4 on Sunday. “It’s the playoffs. You tape it up and you’re good to go,” Turner said.

The Cavs now trail 2-1 in the series but looked like the more composed team Friday. The Pacers have less than 48 hours to match that — or risk giving away all the momentum they spent the first two games building.