What did Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton have to say about his poor performance in his team’s Game 3 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers? We don’t know.
As Cleveland’s 126-104 win suggests, things didn’t go well for Indiana. That said, they went especially poorly for Haliburton. While he led the Pacers in minutes, he scored only four points, fewer than any starter for either team. Following the game, James Boyd of The Athletic shared on X (formerly Twitter) that Haliburton was unavailable to the media.
“Pacers PR did not make Tyrese Haliburton available to the media tonight,” Boyd posted. “He’ll talk tomorrow, per PR.”
#Pacers PR did not make Tyrese Haliburton available to the media tonight. He’ll talk tomorrow, per PR.
Haliburton scored a playoff career-low four points in tonight’s 22-point loss to the Cavs.
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) May 10, 2025
As expected, this decision drew some backlash. One person who criticized it was Matt Glenesk, a sports editor for The Indianapolis Star.
“Can’t be the face of a franchise and then hide, IMO,” Glensek said on X.
Tyrese Haliburton not talking to media after this Game 3 stinker is certainly a decision. You played like 💩, own up to it. Can’t be the face of a franchise and then hide, IMO.
— Matt Glenesk (@MattGlenesk) May 10, 2025
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green offered similar criticism to Houston Rockets swingman Dillon Brooks after the playoff series between those teams. On his podcast, Green commented that Brooks was front-and-center after Houston’s wins in the series, but “ran off the court” after the Game 7 loss.
To this point, the playoffs have gone well for Haliburton and the Pacers — even after Friday’s loss. While Game 3 ended Indiana’s chances of sweeping Cleveland, the Pacers are still up 2-1 in the series, thanks to winning both of the first two games in Cleveland. Indiana has an overall postseason record of 6-2, a mark buoyed by a pair of improbable comebacks, both of which Haliburton was a huge part of.
Haliburton has been a visible presence after those wins.
As far as not being available in Game 3, more may come out in the coming days. Even if not, it’d be wrong to say that skipping a media session after a particularly poor performance is the end of the world. Everyone has bad days. That said, Haliburton’s label as the league’s most overrated player has been a sensitive issue for the Pacers.
Those labels usually aren’t earned just by what happens on the court. Star players generally face the media after games, good or bad. A player not doing so only feeds the perception that he’s not a true star.
If Haliburton and the Pacers really want to shed that label, this can’t become a habit.
