Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton takes step back in Team USA loss to Germany

Team USA was eliminated from the FIBA World Cup on Friday, and fans are concerned about Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton’s performance in the semifinal loss against Germany.

For some context, the last time Team USA faced Germany in FIBA play, it was their final of five exhibition games. Haliburton left it all out on the floor, almost single-handedly leading USA on their comeback trail, earning a hard-fought 99-91 victory.

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton takes step back in Team USA loss to Germany

This was Haliburton’s first game over 10 points in the tournament and the first time in his FIBA career that he took over the offense, from both a scoring and playmaking perspective, and led the team to a victory. The offense completely changed with him on the floor, and Team USA never looked back after regaining the lead.

Heading into the semifinals, Haliburton was coming off his FIBA career-high in points against Italy. He had 18 points on six three-pointers and even dished out a spectacular between-the-legs alley-oop to Paolo Banchero.

The win over Italy had Team USA and Haliburton’s hopes high for the semifinal. Many were hoping for a continuation of his scoring and playmaking effort as Team USA geared up to face Germany in a match to see who would face off against Serbia in the FIBA World Cup Gold Medal game.

Unfortunately, what followed left Team USA dejected and fans conflicted about Haliburton’s play, especially in the closing minutes.