HG08 Pacers second chance to enter the NBA Finals in history is stripped of

Charles Barkley thought the Pacers were “playing satisfactory” rather than trying to eliminate the Knicks – which made them lose Game 5.

New York -- Tyres Halliburton has been limited to single digits in all competitions after a historic triple-double.

The Indiana Pacers failed to make their first NBA Finals in team history due to negative performances in the team's midfield core, losing 94-111 to the New York Knicks in Game 5 Thursday night.

When they try again at home on Saturday, they need Halliburton to be closer to the player who dominates Game 4, rather than the player who only scored two goals in Game 5.

"It was a tough night for me," Halliburton said.

Halliburton scored 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds in Game 4 and had no turnovers, the first 30-15-10 record in the playoffs since the 1977-78 season was recorded.

But in Thursday's game, he only scored 8 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds. The NBA's best point guard didn't even score a goal in the first half, when the Pacers scored a total of 45 points, just two more points than they scored in the first quarter of Game 4.

"I have to control the pace of the game better and make more effort. I feel like I'm not doing very well in this, but I'll watch the video," Halliburton said. "They did something different on the defensive end, but for the most part, their basic skills were the same. They put up a little more pressure and tried to work harder as the game went on. But I had to do better, and I would do better in Game 6." The Knicks reduced some of the mistakes made in Game 4, which allowed Halliburton and the Pacers to gain an advantage in the offense and defensive transition. They also became more sharp in the half-court attack, and rarely allowed Halliburton to break through to the penalty area to create opportunities for himself and his teammates. "It may be because he missed some of the balls that he could normally shoot, but I think our players are united and trying to get him to work for everything, and that's what you have to do," said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. The Pacers' total score fell to playoff lows with just 40.5% shooting percentage. Halliburton wasn't the only player to struggle, with Aaron Nesmith scoring a career-high 30 points in Game 1 to help the Pacers reverse the victory, but he made only 1 of 8 shots in this game.

Pascal Siakam scored a playoff career-high 39 points in Game 2, and he scored only 15 points in this game, making him the only Indiana starter to score in double digits.

"We didn't do well as a team," Halliburton said.

We made too many mistakes and rebounding was not as good as the series showed. In a game that requires multiple possession, if you fail to do these two things, the game will be difficult to play. So, we as a team must do better. I think our pace has to be faster, and it has to start with me. I have to do better in this regard.