The Indiana Pacers came close, but they couldn’t stop the Oklahoma City Thunder, falling 120-114 to the best team in the Western Conference.
The entire Pacers team shared the blame for the loss, but one player was called out by many fans.
Tyrese Haliburton did not have a good game, scoring four points and shooting 33.3 percent from the field and a shocking zero percent from the 3-point line.
Even with 35 minutes on the court, Haliburton couldn’t contribute much, and many people noticed.
Tyrese Haliburton in the loss:
4 points
2/6 FG
0/2 3P
Played 35 minutes 😬 pic.twitter.com/xqRNqtdmDA
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 27, 2024
The vast majority of fans online were shocked to see Haliburton perform so poorly against the Thunder.
“How is he so bad,” one fan wrote, echoing the feelings of many Pacers fans.
how is he so bad
— desire (@dgsire) December 27, 2024
Some people tried to cut him slack because he was playing against the Thunder, one of the toughest and most difficult defensive teams in the entire league.
To these fans, it’s not surprising that Haliburton was limited so much.
But he hasn’t had a hard time against only the Thunder.
In fact, this season has been filled with a lot of bad games for Haliburton, who is averaging 17.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game in 2024-25.
Thunder defense does weird things to superstars. Held Luka to his career low in a half just last week!
— BarstoolThunder (@Barstool_OKC) December 27, 2024
Even devoted Haliburton fans say they are now getting embarrassed by the season he’s having.
While his numbers aren’t awful, they aren’t as good as they were last year, when he earned his second All-Star appearance and helped the Pacers go far in the playoffs.
This is getting embarrassing as a Hali fan bro😭
— ChoZen (@Chozenboii) December 27, 2024
The online responses make it clear that people are starting to give up on Haliburton and lose faith in him.
He still has time to turn things around, of course, but he will have to do a lot to win people back.
Bruhhhh dude has got too many games like this
— Lonely Stoners (@lonelystonerpod) December 27, 2024
The Pacers are now in eighth place in the East.
They still have a fighting chance of reaching the playoffs and plenty of time to right their wrongs.
But that will be much more difficult if Haliburton doesn’t get it together and start playing like the All-Star he has been.
NEXT: Pacers Waived Veteran Center On Monday
