After taking home four wins in five games and snapping the Philadelphia 76ers’ eight-game win streak, the Indiana Pacers walked into their Sunday night matchup against the Orlando Magic with high hopes.
Unfortunately, those hopes were quickly squashed as the red-hot Magic blitzed the Pacers from the jump. They led by 23 in the first quarter, their lead peaked at 40 in the third, and they finished with a 128-116 victory over Indiana.
Garbage time came early for both sides as Orlando won in a wire-to-wire blowout that rivaled the Boston Celtics game for the Pacers’ worst loss of the season.
With how bad the game was, instead of two studs and one dud, we’ll be hitting the reverse button: Two duds and one stud. Let’s take a look.
Dud - Tyrese Haliburton
BREAKING NEWS: Tyrese Haliburton is human. The Pacers All-Star has been having an incredible season, but against the Magic, he struggled mightily.
Indiana’s point guard failed to deliver his usual awe-inspiring performance. He was rough in terms of his scoring and playmaking abilities, leaving a lot to be desired against Orlando.
Haliburton ended the game with 12 points, two rebounds, and three assists while shooting 4-of-14 from the floor and 1-of-3 from behind the three-point line. To make matters worse, he was a team-worst -30 on the night.
That said, those freaking out on social media about Haliburton’s performance have been overreacting. One bad game doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. It just means he’s not above a bump in the road. Expect Haliburton to bounce back in a big way sooner rather than later.