Tyrese Haliburton has posted strong offensive numbers against the Detroit Pistons this season. Perhaps that will get him out of a shooting slump that has made him increasingly frustrated.
The Indiana Pacers (38-31) begin a five-game road trip at the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, following a 108-103 home loss to Cleveland on Monday.
Haliburton was limited to 14 points on 4-for-14 shooting, including a 1-for-9 success rate on 3-point attempts.
Haliburton has scored 18 or fewer points in his last four outings. He’s averaged 15.8 points on 41.7 percent shooting in 13 games since the All-Star break, and he’s made just 21.3 percent of his 3-point attempts in those contests.
Prior to the break, he averaged 21.8 points on 49.2 percent shooting (40 percent on 3-point tries). His assists have also dropped from 11.7 per game to 9.8.
The whole team is struggling with perimeter shots. Since the All-Star break, the Pacers are shooting 33.0 percent on 3-pointers.
Good news for Haliburton and his teammates: They haven’t experienced any difficulties scoring against the Pistons. They’ve won all three matchups this season while averaging 132 points.
Haliburton has averaged 21.7 points and 13.0 assists while shooting 45.3 percent overall and 41.4 percent on 3-point attempts against Detroit.
The Pistons (12-56) have lost three straight. They were missing several key players in a 119-94 loss to Eastern Conference leader Boston on Monday night.
Leading scorer Cade Cunningham sat out due to left knee injury management. Their two rotation small forwards, Simone Fontecchio (left great toe contusion) and Ausar Thompson (illness) also sat out.
Reserve guard Quentin Grimes missed the contest with a sore knee and power forward Isaiah Stewart (right hamstring soreness) departed after the first half.
The Celtics led by 13 at halftime, then doubled the advantage during the third quarter.
The matchup against Indiana begins a three-game homestand for Detroit.
