Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers chasing bounce back in Game 4 vs. Cavaliers

In some circles, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton was perceived as a no-show both during and after his team’s loss on Friday in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.First off, Haliburton created little noise on the court by scoring just four points on 2-of-8 shooting during the fourth-seeded Pacers’ 126-104 setback to the top-seeded Cavaliers.Afterward, he was noticeably absent in any place inhabited by a reporter.Haliburton, who addressed that situation on Saturday afternoon, will look to have more of an impact on Sunday night when the Pacers host the Cavaliers in Game 4 in Indianapolis.Indiana holds a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Yet Cleveland is 3-0 on the road in the playoffs — and is winning by an average of 38 points in those games.Haliburton held court with reporters on Saturday, telling them that he wasn’t made available by the league following Game 3.As for how he was feeling now?”The sun came up this morning,” Haliburton said. “It’s unfortunate. Didn’t have a very good performance last night. (It’s) more film for me to look at, more stuff to figure out. It’s all part of the process.”It was a humbling performance by Haliburton, who had been the star of Indiana’s show in its previous three games.The All-Star guard made a driving layup in the waning moments of the Pacers’ series-clinching win over the Milwaukee Bucks to cap a 26-point night. He then collected 22 points and 13 assists in the series opener versus Cleveland before draining a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to give Indiana a 120-119 victory on Tuesday.While Haliburton struggled on Friday, Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell turned in what head coach Kenny Atkinson labeled as a “masterful” performance.