The Indiana Pacers had no answers to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
Before the 2025 NBA Finals began, the Oklahoma City Thunder was considered an overwhelming favourite of the series.
So it shocked many when the Thunder suffered a 1 point loss in Game 1. However, Thunder bouncing off in Game 2 of the series with a solid 123-107 victory.
The key reason behind the Thunder’s dominant 16-point victory was to keep Tyrees Halliburton quiet.
Halliburton was nothing more than a sensation for the Pacers during the 2025 NBA playoffs. He made multiple clutch shots in the postseason.
However, another underrated aspect of Halliburton’s game was his rebound at both ends of the courthouse. With that in mind, former NBA player Iman Shumpert called out Halliburton about not seeing it from him in Game 2.
“It’s not acceptable and unacceptable in that you’re not shooting it well. We saw you do that. Why didn’t you rebound the ball?” Shumpert said via ESPN’s NBA.
He added: “And it felt like something was going on in your head. Don’t get me wrong. He’s playing his a__. You have one game and hiccups are allowed to happen.
“But if they succeed, especially when they return to Indiana, I need to see six or eight rebounds in a defensive rebound column when the third quarter comes.”
So far, Halliburton has averaged 18.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game for Pacers that have surpassed 18 postseason appearances.
However, Hari failed to reach postseason average in Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals. According to data provided by Sofa Scole, Hari had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists.
As Shumpert said, Haliburton finished the game 54% off the field, so there were no issues with shooting. But that was his lack of rebound.
Given the Pacers’ 43-35, it was clear that the team missed out on Halliburton’s contribution. For example, Halliburton scored 10 rebounds in the opening game of the series.
During the playoffs he averaged 5.3 rebounds, making Game 1 a more outlier, but Game 2 was still below par.