There were two All-Star point guards on the Madison Square Garden floor in Game 1 between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks but only one of them looked the part.
Tyrese Haliburton scored just 6 points and committed 3 turnovers in 36 minutes in the Pacers’ loss. He shot just 2-of-6 from the field.
New York superfan and co-host of the “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast, The Kid Mero didn’t hold back regarding Indiana’s point guard.
“Tyrese Haliburton? 6 points? Fraud,” He said on a May 7 episode of the Dan Le Batard Show. “Everyone was like ‘He’s better than Jalen Brunson, the Knicks should have drafted him.’ Fraud.”
Haliburton was selected over Jalen Brunson both as an All-Star starter and Team USA invite for the Paris Olympics.
It’s safe to say his performance in this series won’t be ignored, good, bad, if the Pacers lose.
It doesn’t help his case that Brunson went off for 43 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in the Game 1 victory.
Knicks Fans Roast Haliburton
Elephants never forget, but New York Knicks fans won’t let you either. They took to Twitter after the game to roast the Pacers’ star for his disappointing performance.
Shaun Geddes tweeted that “Tyrese Haliburton spent the 4th quarter on a milk carton.”
Haliburton didn’t take a single field goal attempt in the final quarter, and Indiana was outscored by 9 points with him on the floor.
Knicks Memes reposted a TikTok from Haliburton where he edited clones of himself dancing, making for a Haliburton trio.
“There are more Tyrese Haliburti in this video than Tyrese Haliburton Made Field Goals in Game 1…Meanwhile Jalen Brunson dropped 43,” they tweeted on May 6.
Indiana’s point guard made just 2 shots in Game 1, and both came in the first half.
The Knicks Recap clarified after the New York win that Brunson and Haliburton aren’t players in a similar tier.
“Don’t ever mention Tyrese Haliburton & Jalen Brunson in the same sentence ever again,” they tweeted. “It’s not even close.”
Brunson’s averaging 36.6 points through 7 postseason games. Haliburton is averaging 14.6 over the same amount of games.
Blames fed into the social media wide roast, adding that it’s the Pacers’ backup point guard who is the real threat to the Knicks.
T.J. McConnell finished Game 1 with 18 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Indiana outscored New York by 9 points when he was on the floor.
The Strickland simply tweeted the point guard’s stat line from Game 1, accompanied by a photoshopped, smug Wally Sczerbiak.
The former NBA player and current analyst for MSG Network went viral for calling Haliburton a “wannabe, fake All-Star” in 2022.
Knicks fans think he’s vindicated following Game 1. The only way Haliburton can quiet the noise is by showing up in the rest of the series.
But there is no more debating which team has the better point guard.
Thibodeau on Brunson: ‘They’re Not Empty Stats’
Brunson scored 40 or more points for a fourth-straight game, giving the New York Knicks a 1-0 lead in the Conference Semifinals.
After the May 6 win, head coach Tom Thibodeau clarified that the point guard’s numbers are out of necessity, not luxury.
“They’re not empty stats,” Thibodeau told SNY postgame. “They’re stats that are impacting winning.”
Brunson becomes the first player in NBA history to record 40 or more points and 5 or more assists in 4 straight playoff games.
New York went 3-1 in those games, and are now 5-2 through seven playoff games.
They’ll play one more on their home floor at MSG before traveling to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where they lost the road matchup against Indiana in the regular season.
But if Tyrese Haliburton is still searching for his shot when Games 3 and 4 come around, a sweep is in the cards for the New York Knicks.
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