Even though he still had a good performance, with 20 points and 11 assists, Tyrese Haliburton did not perform a new miracle. He and his Pacers were largely dominated by the Lakers, and one stat says a lot about the physical impact of Anthony Davis' teammates: 86 points to 44 in the paint! It's very rare, but Los Angeles wins with only two 3-point baskets, and Haliburton doesn't hide his frustration.
“We are disgusted and frustrated”blurted Haliburton. “We were outplayed tonight from start to finish. We didn't do the job on loose balls, we didn't get rebounds, we didn't make enough stops when we needed to. They upgraded us and it's frustrating. »
Want to play other high-stakes matches
Unsurprisingly, Haliburton highlights the impact of Anthony Davis (41 points, 20 rebounds), and more generally the scale and physicality of the Lakers. Jarred Vanderbilt hampered him a lot, and he had a lot of trouble finding his usual angles.
“Not all teams have an Anthony Davis, and a slew of 2m06, 2m08 wingers…” underlines the Indiana leader. “It was just a matter of understanding what to expect. It didn't feel like I was in the regular season at all. I'm used to playing against LeBron whatever his playing time, 30 or 35 minutes. There, I had the impression that he and AD had never left the floor. It was like a playoff game.”
Speaking of the playoffs, Haliburton wants to taste it, and this nice run in the NBA tournament is just one step.
“Just getting used to it did me good and made me want to play more high-stakes matches”he concludes. “I want to manage the rest of the season as necessary to be able to participate in the playoffs and feel that feeling again. »
