The Indiana Pacers advanced to the semi-finals of the NBA In-Season Tournament with a win over the Boston Celtics inside a raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse by a final score of 122-112. Las Vegas, here they come.
Tyrese Haliburton, while still fighting through an illness that caused him to miss the Pacers last game, had his first career triple double with 26 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, and 0 turnovers. Haliburton has said that he takes this IST opportunity seriously as someone that has never been to the playoffs and is desperate to win, and he proved it tonight by rising to the moment in the highest stakes game of his young career.
āI was dead in the first half,ā Haliburton said. āā¦ There was never a doubt for me when I got sick. This was no question. Didn’t matter. I was going to play tonight.” The Pacers superstar added that it was bad enough at halftime that he ended up needing an inhaler for the first time in his life as he was struggling to breathe.
At halftime, he was just 3 for 8 with 7 points and 2 assists as the Pacers struggled to make shots from inside the arc at 29% (8 for 27) but were still hanging around as they were only down by 7 behind a solid defensive performance across the roster.
In the third quarter, the Pacers superstar took over. Youād have never guessed he was still dealing with illness while he scored or assisted on 24 of the first 27 points for the Pacers as they turned a 7-point deficit into a 4-point lead before he took a well-earned break with three minutes left in the quarter.
āI know when his confidence is up, we feed off of that,ā Myles Turner said of Haliburtonās takeover after halftime. āSo when he’s starting to make shots, when he’s jumping around, he’s getting the crowd involved, the energy is just infectious. Everybody starts to feel it. Now we’re a little bit more amped up and what not. ā¦ Iāve seen this guy do this countless times since he’s been here.”
Haliburton threw no-look passes perfectly placed to Myles Turner, hit contested stepback 3-pointers, drove to the basket with his left and finished while switching hands, in a rare miscue he was blocked on a three but retrieved the rebound and hit a floater, and found shooters on the perimeter after breaking down the defense. It was a masterful performance in his first game on TNT in his career.
āGood to win, especially in games where nobody expected us to,” Haliburton said. “You don’t play on national TV if you don’t win games. The more we come out here and prove on a night-to-night basis that we can win games, it’s going to change. That’s what we’re about right now, changing how this organization is viewed and how we as players are viewed, and just coming out here and competing every night.”
In the fourth-quarter MVP chants were raining down loudly after he hit a 3-pointer to retake the lead with under four minutes to go and then gave the Pacers a cushion with a 4-point play with 90 seconds left that had the fieldhouse as loud as itās been in years. The MVP chants continued into live play as Haliburton threw an in-bounds pass to Buddy Hield, who drilled a 3-pointer, and the Pacers gathered a steal on the following possession and Haliburton found a streaking Aaron Nesmith for a fiery slam that served as the death blow to the Celtics hopes.
āIt really means the world to me to represent Indiana and this organization,ā Haliburton said. āIām just going to keep coming out here, playing to my ability and lead.ā
Haliburtonās second-half line: 19 points (7 for 10) and 11 assists. He shined in a game that felt like every bit of a playoff game from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
āHe was terrific,ā Carlisle said of Haliburton. āAs the game went on, he became more and more determined on the defensive end. They were trying to attack him to wear him down. He got deflections, he scooped up loose balls. And some of the shotmaking and the assists were breathtaking. Really happy for him.”
Haliburton was very focused on the defensive performance of the team after the game, jokingly referring to the defense multiple times with a smile on his face that has only been matched by his acting in his IMCU commercial on local broadcasts.
āReally? Our defense was there? I appreciate you saying that, Dustin,ā Haliburton told the Indy Star reporter Dustin Dopirak after he asked about the defense and complemented their play on that end of the floor.
They forced 18 turnovers while only committing six themselves, held the Celtics to only 12 free-throw attempts, and held the 15-5 title contenders to 29% shooting from 3 (12 of 41).
āWe just changed some things schematically on the defensive end,” Haliburton said of the adjustments at halftime. “… We did a good job of changing it up a little bit and figuring it out defensively. And if we just get a couple stops, we’re going to run. And nobody wants to run with us when we get stops.”
The Pacers had 7 players score in double figures and contribute in big ways. Hield scored 21 and hit timely shots, drove to the basket. Myles Turner had a double double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith played phenomenal defense against his former team and added 14 points. McConnell scored just two points but ignited the crowd in a burst of energy when inserted for Haliburton at the end of the third. Bennedict Mathurin hit four 3-pointers. Bruce Brown hit multiple drives to the rim and drew fouls. Obi Toppin allowed the Pacers to play small with him at the 5 as they went without playing a backup center and added 12 points.
On Thursday in Vegas, the Pacers will play the winner of the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night game.
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