The alarm bell sounded, why did the Pacers get hit at home? The biggest "sinner" is revealed, I should reflect on it

On May 10, 2025, this heartbreaking night for Pacers fans, in the NBA Playoff Eastern Conference Semi-Finals G3, the Indiana Pacers were hit by the Cleveland Cavaliers at home with a huge gap of 104-126. The series' big score advantage changed from 2-0 to 2-1, and the team's core Haliburton's poor performance in this game undoubtedly became the key factor in the team's defeat. On the offensive end, Halliburton completely lost himself. He made only 2 of 8 shots in the game, scoring a pitiful 4 points, shooting as low as 25%, and 0 of 1 shots from outside the three-point line. As the team's core and offensive engine, such scoring efficiency is really unacceptable. In the past, he used sharp breakthroughs and accurate long shots to tear the opponent's defense and opened up the situation for the team, but all these unique skills disappeared in this game. When the teammates attacked, because they lacked his strong firepower support and traction, they fought fearfully and had no offensive fluency. The entire team's offensive system seemed to be in a quagmire.

Halliburton also failed to achieve his due level in organizational connection. As a point guard, controlling the team's offensive rhythm and sorting out the offense is his job. However, he made three mistakes in this game, which kept the team's offensive rhythm being disrupted. Many times, his pass deviations make it difficult for his teammates to catch the ball and unable to complete the offense comfortably, which greatly reduces the offensive efficiency. Defensively, Halliburton is also in trouble. When he was defending Garland of the Cavaliers, his footsteps moved slowly and was scored by Garland using pick-and-rolls many times. The Cavaliers' Box one tactics formulated against him have achieved significant results, constantly consuming his energy, resulting in him being unable to do anything on the offensive end and running around.

In the crucial fourth quarter, Halliburton only played for 2 minutes and did not make any moves, which was equivalent to being abandoned by coach Carlisle. This move undoubtedly shows that the coach is extremely disappointed with his performance in this game. When the team needed him the most to stand up and turn the tide, he could only sit off the court and watch the team break the gap by the opponent and unable to turn the situation around. Halliburton's sluggish game not only affected his performance, but also hit the morale of the whole team. As the core of the team, his teammates saw every move, and his depression also spread to the entire team to a certain extent, resulting in teamwork being no longer tacit and greatly reducing his combat effectiveness.

The loss of this game sounded a wake-up call for the Pacers. In the next series, Halliburton must quickly adjust his state, find his offensive rhythm, reduce mistakes, and improve defensive intensity. Otherwise, the Pacers' prospects in this round of the series will become very bleak.