The Indiana Pacers continued their streak of win-loss-win-loss on Monday night, falling to the lowly Portland Trail Blazers, who are in full tank mode this season.
After trading Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks over the summer, the Trail Blazers emptied their roster, yet somehow, they still managed to take down the Pacers.
It was a complete mess of a night Pacers, who once again struggled to defend and, in a weird instance, had some troubles on the offensive end as well - an area that is usually their strong suit.
So, since the Pacers lost by a score of 114-110, instead of two studs and one dud, we’re going to be taking a look at one stud and two duds. And since it was an ugly game, let’s get the stud out of the way.
Stud - Tyrese Haliburton
As if there would have been anyone else to take this spot. Tyrese Haliburton very rarely has a bad game, and despite the fact that the Pacers lost, he still had a solid showing.
As per usual, Haliburton’s offense was elite. He was scoring in bunches and setting his teammates up for good looks, even if they weren’t always making the shots.
Haliburton finished the game against the Trail Blazers with a team-high 33 points to go along with two rebounds and nine assists. He shot 11-of-17 from the floor and 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, Haliburton’s performance wasn’t enough to carry them over the finish line against a team they absolutely should have beaten.