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Boston Celtics reporter drags Tyrese Haliburton after PG goes missing as Pacers lose to Knicks in Game 1

By Andrew Hughes

Indiana Pacers v New York Knicks - Game One
Indiana Pacers v New York Knicks - Game One / Sarah Stier/GettyImages
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Boston Celtics reporter Jay King of The Athletic dragged Tyrese Haliburton after the point guard scored just six points on 2/6 shooting in a Game 1 loss for the Indiana Pacers against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals; claiming that the Sacramento Kings swindled Indy for getting Domantas Sabonis for him via trade.

"Can't believe the Kings got Domantas Sabonis for Haliburton," King prefaced before saying, "Crazy how badly Sacramento swindled Indiana."

To Haliburton's credit, while he didn't play the alpha role for Indiana when they badly needed it, he did dish out eight assists at MSG on May 6. The Pacers fought valiantly in the Game 1 effort but fell in the final minute due to clutch shooting from Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo.

Certainly, the Knicks look like a formidable opponent for the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. With or without Kristaps Porzingis in the lineup.

Boston Celtics reporter spot-on about Tyrese Haliburton-Domantas Sabonis trade

While the Kings only got a second-round pick and two role players no longer on the team, they were able to get off of Buddy Hield's massive contract and Tristan Thompson while getting the (much) better player in the swap.

Sabonis is a double-double machine who was two assists shy of averaging a triple-double during the 2023-24 season. Haliburton was a monster in December who averaged 21 points and 14 assists but by February those numbers were down to 16 and nine. Yes, those are still respectable numbers, but not one-man game-changing numbers like Sabonis had throughout the entire campaign.

Sacramento needed to clear out their backcourt, having a redundancy in point guards with Haliburton and De'Aaron Fox. Indiana could've made the Sabonis-Myles Turner pairing work, but bailed on it for small-ball.

The Kings reign supreme in the Haliburton-for-Sabonis trade until the former could change the narrative.

He definitely didn't do that in Game 1 against NY.

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