As the final minutes ticked away in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 123-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals, the broadcast panned to a forlorn Tyrese Haliburton sitting on the bench. The Game 1 hero could do nothing but sit and watch as the Thunder tied the series at 1-1.

The Indiana Pacers are on a storybook run this postseason, but Game 2 of the NBA Finals will be a forgettable chapter. There was no late plot twist. There was no heroic performance from the team's protagonist, Tyrese Haliburton. There was no deeper message to be read between the lines.