In the second game of the NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder demonstrated their physical defense, holding Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton to just three points in the first half and ultimately securing a 123-107 victory to tie the series 1-1. The Thunder's strategy of giving up a lot of 3-pointers, especially in the corners, was effective as they retook control of the game and set the terms of engagement. Haliburton struggled in the first two games of the Finals, with two "really poor first halves," but he managed to salvage the game with a late comeback and a game-winning jumper in Game 1. However, on Sunday, the Thunder's relentless defense kept Haliburton from making a similar impact. The Pacers were relegated to passing the ball around the perimeter, perhaps paying too much respect to the Thunder's historic defense. The Thunder's defense was so effective that it even forced Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson to protest the Luka Dončić trade by wearing Dončić's sneakers upon being honored with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award. Haliburton's production throughout the playoffs has been up-and-down, with sterling moments followed by pseudo-disappearing acts. This isn't a referendum on his stardom or validation to the "overrated" talk, but rather a demonstration of how difficult it is to produce on-call in the NBA Finals. Following the wild finish in Game 2 of the semifinals against Cleveland, Haliburton put up a stinker with four points and five assists in a blowout loss at home that temporarily gave the Cavaliers hope. After he had a perfect 32-15-12 game in Game 4 of the East finals against the Knicks, he followed it up with eight points and six assists in a 111-94 Game 5 loss. The Thunder just applied extra attention, and Haliburton was content in not forcing the action. "They're really physical, force the officials to let us play a little bit more," Haliburton said. "Gotta do a better job of playing through there." The Pacers' head coach Rick Carlisle emphasized that there's more to the game than just scoring and that everyone has to do more, starting with their best players like Haliburton and Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner. He also noted that people shouldn't judge how any of their players played based solely on their points and assists. "We’re an ecosystem that has to function together," Carlisle said. Haliburton is the biggest cog in the ecosystem, but is also the player the Thunder are best equipped to handle with physical play. Lu Dort and Jalen Williams are on the All-Defensive team, and Alex Caruso might as well be - there’s no rest or easy matchup for Haliburton to pick at. And with Siakam struggling to create his own offense (3-for-13 shooting), the Pacers' options to get reliable shots dwindle.
