It’s been an up-and-down season for the Indiana Pacers so far, highlighted by their most recent game – a 125-124 loss to the Charlotte Hornets that included an other-worldly performance from Tyrese Haliburton.
Indiana was going toe-to-toe with the Hornets for most of the game, and in the third quarter, they dropped 50 points, surging out to a four-point lead to begin the fourth quarter.
At the end of the game, Buddy Hield missed a free throw to tie the game, but the Pacers still had a chance to win. But a brutal final play ended in a Hornets victory and a 3-3 record for Indiana, who sits in the middle of the pack in the East.
Following the tough loss, let’s take a look at two studs and one dud from the game.
Stud – Buddy Hield
Look, missing a game-tying free throw at the end of a close contest is a tough look, but there were plenty of other mistakes that the Indiana Pacers made outside of Buddy Hield’s miss.
In reality, he was one of their better players throughout the contest against the Charlotte Hornets. He finished with a solid statline and gave them production on both ends.
Hield finished the game with 19 points (second on the team), six rebounds, two assists, and two blocks while shooting 7-of-15 from the field and 5-of-13 from beyond the three-point arc.
All people will remember is the missed free throw, but in reality, Hield played well against the Hornets. He just came up short in the final moments of the game.
Dud – Benedict Mathurin
Heading into the season, expectations for Bennedict Mathurin were sky-high. Fresh off an impressive rookie season, Mathurin was pegged as one of the key pieces on an Indiana Pacers team expected to make a leap.
Unfortunately, through the first six games of the season, Mathurin has been inconsistent. And his inconsistencies continued against the Charlotte Hornets, as he was unable to produce an efficient performance.
In 23:56 of action, Mathurin put up eight points, five rebounds, and five assists while shooting 3-of-11 from the field and 0-of-2 from beyond the three-point line.
On a night where the Pacers could have used someone outside of Tyrese Haliburton to step up, Mathurin fell short of the mark, and the Pacers can’t afford that anymore.
To dish out a bit of credit, Mathurin continued to show off his improved playmaking skills in this one, doling out five assists, but shooting 3-of-11 from the field is a disappointment.
All of this isn’t to say that Mathurin is a bad player. Quite the opposite, actually. Mathurin is great, but if the Pacers want to reach their peak, they need him to play at the level they know he can on a consistent basis.
If they don’t know if they’re getting an efficient 20-point game or an inefficient, sub-10-point game from Mathurin, then the offense will be affected.
Stud – Tyrese Haliburton
This may have been the best game of Tyrese Haliburton’s career – and the Indiana Pacers lost. Haliburton was nothing short of incredible in this game – and the Pacers lost.
In 36:42 of action – by far the most on the team – Haliburton dropped 43 points, two rebounds, 12 assists, and one block while shooting 14-of-21 from the floor and 8-of-12 from behind the three-point arc.
Everywhere you looked, Haliburton was there, providing top-notch play for the Pacers. He wasn’t just the best player on offense for Indiana, he was their offense.
Unfortunately, similarly to Buddy Hield, the play most fans will remember came at the end of the game when Haliburton had a chance to win it for the Pacers.
He was dribbling above the three-point line, lost the ball, got pressed by Hornets star LaMelo Ball, and had the ball poked away in the dying seconds of the contest.
Ball got the last laugh despite being outdueled by Haliburton throughout the game, and the Master Class performance by the Pacers star was put to waste.
All of that being said, the final play and Pacers loss should not take away from how incredible Haliburton was against the Hornets. He’s a top-five point guard in the NBA, and the Pacers need to build around him.