Washington (AFP) – Tyrese Haliburton delivered his second career playoff triple double to power Indiana over New York 130-121 on Tuesday, lifting the Pacers one win from the NBA Finals. Haliburton scored 32 points, passed off 15 assists, and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds while making no turnovers over 38 minutes, becoming the first player in NBA playoff history with 30-15-10 and no turnovers. Indiana, who blew a 20-point lead in a game-three home loss, seized a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals with the home triumph.
“I was just trying to be aggressive, trying to respond,” Haliburton said. “I felt like I let the team down in game three so it was important to come out here and just make plays. Guys put me in position to make plays and play my game and man, it’s a big win for us.” Game five is set for Thursday in New York’s Madison Square Garden. “I’m excited about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Haliburton said. “It’s a tough environment to play in. We’ve got to be ready. Just one more game, take what we can from this and be ready for game five.” The East winner will face either Oklahoma City or Minnesota in the NBA Finals starting June 5.
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Haliburton’s father was in the arena after a month-long ban following an on-court incident with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier in the playoffs. “Hell yeah. I’m glad pop is in the building,” Haliburton said. “It makes it that much more sweet. Had a little bit to do with it.” Haliburton, who also had four steals, made 11-of-23 shots from the floor and 5-of-12 from three-point range.
“We tried giving him different looks,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We’ll look at the film. We just have to do better.” Pascal Siakam added 30 points for the Pacers while Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points off the bench for Indiana. “We just wanted to come out with more energy, more urgency,” Siakam said. “I thought we did that from the beginning. They made runs but we stuck to our game plan.” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle praised Mathurin. “He was great. He gave us a huge lift,” he said.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 31 points while Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 12 rebounds, O.G. Anunoby had 22 points, and Mikael Bridges netted 17 points. New York gave up 17 turnovers. “Our defense wasn’t good enough. Our defense and turnovers probably hurt us,” Thibodeau said. “The important thing is to reset. We’re not playing the series. We’re playing the game.” Towns suffered a left knee injury defending a drive by Myles Turner with 2:10 remaining but stayed in the game. “He was able to go back in. That was a good sign,” Thibodeau said. “We’ll see how he is after he’s evaluated.” “I’m only thinking about the loss. I’m not thinking about that right now,” Towns said when asked about his knee.
The Pacers last made the NBA Finals in 2000 and have never won the NBA title. The Knicks, on the brink of elimination, have not reached the NBA Finals since 1999 and their last crown was in 1973. “You’ve got to give it your all,” Brunson said. “It’s that simple.” Indiana led 43-35 after the first quarter as Haliburton had 15 points, six assists, and five rebounds to start his no-turnover night. “To not have any turnovers is pretty remarkable,” Carlisle said. “I know he takes great pride in it. That’s a motivating factor.” The Pacers led 69-64 at halftime and stretched the lead to 102-91 entering the fourth quarter. New York went on a 10-2 run to pull within 115-109, but could not catch Indiana, and Obi Toppin’s three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining to establish a 126-116 Indiana lead sealed New York’s fate.
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