‘Clutch King’ Tyrese Haliburton thought he had silenced his critics after a stunning buzzer-beat gave the Indiana Pacers a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder became the latest NBA team to fall victim to the planet’s most formidable hooper at the death.
GettyHaliburton put up numbers not seen since 1958[/caption]But ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith clapped back, insisting that true superstars can be counted on at all times — not just in the final seconds.
“When I think about a superstar, I’m thinking about you being a consistent No. 1 option that teams have to gameplan against every single night, and you answer the call,” Smith said on First Take. “To me, that hasn’t always been Tyrese Haliburton.
“Even in this series it’s been a couple of games where he hasn’t been there. I don’t view him that way, not yet.
“He’s good. He’s a young, rising star in this game. He has to keep it up. I need to see more consistency before I give him that kind of label.”
Those words will be ringing in Haliburton’s ears as the Clutch King’s crown slipped with a historically bad showing in Game 5.
The Thunder raced into an early lead and sealed a 120-109 victory to take the lead in the series for the first time and leave themselves one victory from a ring.
Haliburton became the first player in NBA history ever to record zero made field goals, zero steals, zero blocks, three-plus turnovers, and three-plus fouls in over 30 minutes played in the Finals.
He is the only person since former St. Louis Hawk Slater Martin — a 5ft 10in guard — to fail to make a single shot during a Finals game since 1958.
Seven-time All-Star Martin went on to win a fifth ring that year — the only way Haliburton will earn some piece this offseason is to earn a first.
After possibly the worst performance of all time on basketball’s biggest stage, Smith was ready to lead the criticism.
Smith blamed Rick Carlisle for Haliburton’s strugglesESPN GettyHaliburton was voted the NBA’s most overrated player by his peers[/caption]“Haliburton has looked awful, and I’m glad he’s injured,” said the hot take specialist. “I’m not saying I’m glad he’s injured, but I’m glad we got that as a rationale.”
Haliburton suffered an injury to his right leg in Game 2 and looked to be struggling again, but didn’t want to sit out the game.
The Pacers talisman, who suffered a right leg injury in game two of the series, once again struggled as Indiana slipped to a defeat that leaves the Thunder one win away from clinching the series.
“It’s the Finals, man. I’ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete, help my teammates any way I can,” he said.
“I was not great tonight by any means, but it’s not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play. It is what it is. Got to be ready to go for Game 6.”
Smith believes that responsibility ultimately lies with Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for not giving T. J. McConnell, who had 18 points in just 22 minutes, more time.
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Haliburton will need to be more consistent to keep Smith quiet“Something is wrong definitely, you have to say that, because there is no excuse for him not having a field goal the entire game,” Smith added. “It was a horrific performance. He’s probably injured, he’s probably hurt. He’s probably not 100 percent, because we know Haliburton can do more.
“Having said that, Rick Carlisle, an exceptional championship, Hall of Fame-caliber coach, we know he could have made a decision. Because the way T. J. McConnell was playing in the third quarter, he could have kept him in the game.
“With Haliburton hurt, I’m leaving T.J. Haliburton in the game. He wasn’t just being aggressive, being assertive, playing downhill, he was making shots. I’m not taking him out of that game.”
Jalen Williams dropped 40 points and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 as the Thunder showed why they were considered top dogs heading into the series.
The Pacers must win on home court on Thursday to take the Finals to a decider in OKC.
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