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LOOK: Tyrese Haliburton Gets Petty, Slams Toxic Knicks Fans With Highlights Montage 2 May 31, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) looks on in the third quarter during game six of the eastern conference finals against the New York Knicks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Indiana Pacers’ Haliburton Gets Criticized by NBA Analyst

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Reign Amurao | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 7:48 AM ET

The Indiana Pacers couldn’t get a win on the road and had a 120-109 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The defense of the Thunder was a headache for the Pacers, as they forced 22 turnovers. All-Star forward Pascal Siakam was the Pacers’ best performer. He finished with 28 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. His co-star, however, had a different story.

All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton didn’t have the best scoring night of his career. He had four points, seven rebounds and six assists on 0-for-6 shooting from the field. Early in the game, he sustained an apparent leg injury, which prevented him from being aggressive on the offensive end. However, he stayed in the game and played 34 minutes.

Unfortunately for the star guard, it wasn’t a good look. NBA analyst Skip Bayless called him out during the game on X (formerly Twitter) and said that Haliburton has no excuses for his disappointing performance.

“No excuse for Haliburton,” Bayless posted.

In another post, Bayless had a video calling out the two-time All-Star.

“Haliburton,” Bayless said. “Don’t give him an excuse, don’t give him a pass.

“I am not buying that some kind of calf pull was thwarting him, handicapping him. It looked like he was moving just fine to me.”

Bayless said that the Pacers star has a history of being a “no-show.” Additionally, the analyst went back to Haliburton being an “overrated” star.

For Game 6, there’s a demand that the star point guard show up and lead his team to force a Game 7. Indiana will host OKC at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday.

Indiana Pacers’ head coach addressed Haliburton’s injury

One of the biggest issues for the Indiana Pacers was the injury to Haliburton. Following the contest, head coach Rick Carlisle gave an update in front of the reporters that the team’s best player isn’t 100%.

“He’s not 100%. It’s pretty clear. But I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game,” Carlisle said. “This is lifetime opportunity & not many guys are going to sit even if they’re a little banged up. Now if you’re injured, that’s a different story.”

Carlisle mentioned how guys are banged up this time of the year. They've played 100+ gms.

"This is lifetime opportunity & not many guys are going to sit even if they’re a little banged up. Now if you’re injured, that’s a different story."

They'll see how he comes out of it.

— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 17, 2025

Haliburton also told the media that he isn’t thinking of sitting out for the rest of the series. With their season on the line, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist wants to show up big-time for his team.

Indiana Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton Surpasses Chris Paul in This 1 Wild Point Guard Stat 2 Mar 24, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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