Tyrese Haliburton went from Game 1 hero to Game 2 head-scratcher faster than you can say “run the offense.” Just two nights after delivering the Pacers’ biggest shot of the postseason, Haliburton looked like a totally different guy in Game 2 — more like a bewildered passenger than the driver of Indiana’s high-octane offense.

The Thunder took care of business with a dominant 123-107 win, and while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Aaron Wiggins were busy tearing the Pacers’ defense to shreds like it was papier mache, Haliburton was… well, kind of just there. Sure, he finished with 17 points, but 12 of those came in the fourth quarter, when OKC were already halfway into planning their Game 3 wardrobe.

And former NBA champ Iman Shumpert had thoughts. “That’s what I’m saying — the box score doesn’t look bad, but that looked bad today,” Shumpert said on the Hoop Collective Podcast. “That was the first time I really saw him struggle.” Iman wasn’t alone. Brian dug into the numbers and found the hidden truth underneath the box score glitter. “So he’s 7-for-13 with six assists, 17 points,” Brian pointed out. “But again, he had 12 of the 17 in the fourth quarter. I doubt…”

Shumpert cut in again with the mic drop stat: “He was at 3-for-3 from the field with 3 points and 5 turnovers. Yeah, 3-for-3-5 through three quarters, basically. And it’s like, bro, that’s unacceptable. Not unacceptable in the regard that you’re not shooting it well — it’s okay if you’re not scoring — we’ve seen that before. But since when have you not rebounded the ball?”

Yep. Haliburton, the engine of the Pacers’ offense, looked like he was running on fumes. Shumpert wasn’t just nitpicking his scoring — he was pointing at the whole game. “That, to me, felt like something was going on in your [Tyrese] head,” Shump added. “Don’t get me wrong — he’s been playing his a– off, and you’re allowed to have one game with some hiccups. But if they’re going to be successful, especially when they get back to Indiana, I need to see 6 to 8 rebounds by the third quarter. That would show me he’s getting push-outs, he’s getting out in transition.”

Unfortunately, what fans saw instead was Haliburton playing like someone who accidentally picked up NBA 2K on Hall of Fame difficulty after three months off. The passes weren’t crisp, the movement was sluggish, and the defense? Let’s just say Lu Dort was out there looking like a bodyguard assigned to ruin Haliburton’s night — and he did just that.

The Haliburton Vanishing Act

Here’s the stat that sums up Game 2 better than any fancy advanced metric: five points through three quarters. Not five assists. Five points. On seven shots. That’s like ordering prime rib at a steakhouse and getting a chicken nugget combo instead. By the time Haliburton started scoring in the fourth quarter, it was too late. The Thunder had already driven a bus over Indiana’s hopes, reversed it, and ran it back over twice more. And don’t get fooled by those late points either — those were “empty calorie” buckets, the kind that look nice on a stat sheet but mean about as much as a preseason triple-double.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle knew it too, though he tried to spin it with a bit of veteran diplomacy: “There’s a lot more to the game than just scoring. Everybody’s got to do more.” Translation: Ty, what are we doing, man? Let’s give credit where it’s due. This wasn’t all Haliburton being in a funk. Oklahoma City threw a rotation of elite defenders at him like a ‘90s action movie montage — Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, even Chet Holmgren stepped up to the plate.

Dort, in particular, was the ringleader of the chaos. During Jalen Williams’ in-game interview, when asked what was slowing Haliburton down, he kept it simple: “Lu Dort.” That’s it. No metaphors, no overthinking — just a dogged defender who treated Haliburton like a personal side quest. Caruso picked his pocket with a backcourt violation.

After the game, Haliburton showed up to the postgame press conference with a noticeable limp. No dramatic wincing, no crutches, but still — a limp is a limp. And with only one day off before Game 3 in Indiana, that’s not ideal. The Pacers are now 8-1 this postseason when Haliburton scores 18 or more. When he doesn’t? 5-4. That’s not just a stat — it’s a flashing red light warning that Indiana’s playoff success lives and dies by Haliburton’s aggressiveness.

And if he’s playing through something, or worse, letting the moment shrink him mentally, the Pacers might find themselves asking Pascal Siakam to channel his inner 2019 Kawhi Leonard. Spoiler alert: he’s not that guy. Not in this series, anyway. Game 2 wasn’t just a loss for Indiana — it was a wake-up call. The Thunder responded to Game 1 with composure, defense, and a highlight reel from Aaron Wiggins. The Pacers responded with a disappearing act from their star guard and way too much Obi Toppin.

Look, Haliburton is still the future of this franchise. No one’s jumping ship over one bad game. But as Iman Shumpert said, unacceptable is the right word here. If Indiana wants to stand a chance in Game 3, Haliburton can’t just show up. He has to take over.

Because if he doesn’t, this series might get wrapped up faster than an Andre Iguodala defensive rotation.