Haliburton moves Pacers one win shy of NBA Finals
Haliburton moves Pacers one win shy of NBA Finals
Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton recorded his second career postseason triple-double in the win. Photo: Reuters
Tyrese Haliburton delivered his second career playoff triple double to power Indiana over New York 130-121 and lift 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, which 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.
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."
Pascal Siakam added 30 points for the Pacers while Bennedict Mathurin added 20 points off the bench for Indiana.
"We just wanted to come out with more energy, more urgency, play Pacers basketball," Siakam said. "I thought we did that from the beginning. They made runs but we stuck to our game plan."
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.
The Pacers last made the NBA Finals in 2000, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, and have never won the NBA title.
The Knicks haven't reached the NBA Finals since losing to San Antonio in 1999 and haven't won the league crown since 1973.
Indiana won the first two games at Madison Square Garden and took a 55-35 lead in game three at home before the Knicks rallied to win, denying the Pacers a possible sweep.
That helped spark Indiana to a strong start in game four.
The Pacers closed the first quarter on a 12-5 run to seize a 43-35 lead, with Haliburton having 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in the period.
New York answered in the second quarter with a 9-2 run to pull level at 51-51 but a 6-0 Indiana run to close the quarter left the Pacers ahead 69-64, with Haliburton near a first-half triple double on 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Indiana began the third quarter with a 7-0 run for a 76-64 lead, taking advantage of two forced turnovers for a 19-2 edge in fast break points, and a 9-4 run to close the third quarter stretched the Pacers' lead to 102-91 entering the fourth.
New York went on a 10-2 run to pull within 115-109, but a Siakam three-pointer and Haliburton basket kept Indiana ahead 120-114 with 3:06 remaining.
Towns suffered a left knee injury defending a drive by Myles Turner with 2:10 remaining but stayed in the game.
The Pacers pulled ahead 123-114 with 1:44 to play and Obi Toppin sank a three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining for a 126-116 Indiana lead to seal New York's fate. (AFP)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Haliburton's double-double leads Indiana Pacers into NBA Finals for first time since 2000
The Indiana Pacers, fuelled by 31 points from Pascal Siakam and a 21-point double-double from Tyrese Haliburton, beat the New York Knicks 125-108 on Saturday to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. The Pacers used a big third quarter to break open a close game and kept the pressure on in the fourth period to win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals 4-2. They reached the championship series for the second time in franchise history, and will be chasing their first title when the finals open in Oklahoma City on Thursday. Haliburton said the series triumph was especially sweet after the Pacers were swept in the conference finals last season by eventual champions Boston. 'You know, we got to the same spot last year, fell short and we just worked our tails off as a group to get back here,' he said. 'It's been a bumpy road with our start and just really proud of the resilience of this group.' Tyrese Haliburton shoots against New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (left) in Indianapolis. Photo: AP He was already looking ahead to the formidable challenge of the Thunder, who led the league with 68 regular season wins and saw star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named MVP.
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
Pacers beat Knicks to reach NBA Finals
Pacers beat Knicks to reach NBA Finals Star forward Pascal Siakam was named Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Conference finals, bouncing back after a disappointing outing in game five. Photo: Reuters The Indiana Pacers, fueled by 31 points from Pascal Siakam and a 21-point double-double from Tyrese Haliburton, beat the New York Knicks 125-108 on Saturday to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. The Pacers used a big third quarter to break open a close game and kept the pressure on in the fourth period to win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals four games to two. They reached the championship series for the second time in franchise history, and will be chasing their first title when the Finals open in Oklahoma City on Thursday. New York had fended off elimination with a dominant defensive display in game five, but could not send the series to a decisive game seven. Instead the Knicks, who earned their two NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, remain in search of their first trip to the Finals since 1999. Star forward Siakam was named Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Conference finals, bouncing back after a disappointing outing in game five, when the Knicks used a dominating defensive effort to extend the series. "After a bad game five, we wanted to bounce back," Siakam said. "And I have 100 percent belief in my teammates. Whenever we're down, we always find a way – and we did that tonight." Haliburton shook off early shooting struggles to finish with 21 points and 13 assists as seven Pacers players scored in double figures. That included 18 off the bench from Obi Toppin and 11 from backup Thomas Bryant as the Pacers reserves out-scored the Knicks reserves 38-20. "I'm really proud of this group," Haliburton said. "We had a tough showing last game as a group. We wanted to respond. "We did a great job of that," he added. "I'm just so proud of this group and I don't even have words right now." OG Anunoby led the Knicks' scoring with 24 points. Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 14 rebounds and Jalen Brunson scored 19 points and handed out seven assists. But Indiana emerged from a fast-paced first quarter that featured five lead changes with a one-point lead and never trailed again, harrying New York into 18 turnovers that led to 34 Pacers points. Haliburton, scoreless in the first quarter, warmed up with eight points in the second, including a thunderous dunk after teammate Andrew Nembhard's steal – one of 10 of New York's first-half turnovers. Nembhard came up with another steal from Brunson and fed Siakam for a layup to push Indiana's lead to six points before Anunoby drilled a basket in the final second of the first half to cut the Knicks' deficit to 58-54 at the break. The Pacers opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run and pushed their lead to 15 points, 78-63, on back-to-back three-pointers from Nembhard and Bryant, sending the crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse into a frenzy. The Knicks quickly trimmed the deficit back to seven only for the Pacers to pull away again to take a 92-77 lead into the fourth quarter. Haliburton, who had just 10 points through the first three quarters, added 11 in the final frame as the Pacers romped home. (AFP)
RTHK
2 days ago
- RTHK
Brunson, Towns keep Knicks alive in Pacers rout
Brunson, Towns keep Knicks alive in Pacers rout Five players finished the game in double figures for New York. Photo: Reuters Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 56 points as the New York Knicks kept their NBA playoff campaign alive with a 111-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Trailing 3-1 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks roared back to life in front of a star-studded Madison Square Garden crowd with a wire-to-wire win that sets up a game six in Indianapolis on Saturday. Knicks talisman Brunson was once again the standout performer for New York, finishing with 32 points including four three-pointers. Towns, whose presence in the New York line-up was only confirmed shortly before tip-off following a left knee injury in game four, was also a pivotal figure with 24 points and 13 rebounds. "We were just able to get stops early and we would convert. We just found a way," Brunson said. "I just felt like we played better. We played to our standards. Give them credit for the way they played, but we played Knicks basketball tonight." Brunson set the tone, rattling in 14 points as the Knicks sprinted into an early 23-13 lead in the first quarter. Although Indiana came back to cut the lead to 27-23 at the end of the first, the Knicks continued to control possession, unsettling Indiana with the speed of their fast break offense and neutralising Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. New York led 56-45 at half time with Haliburton scoring just four points in the first half. Haliburton would go on to finish with a series-low eight points, shooting just two-of-seven from the field. The Pacers had staged an epic comeback to take the opening game of the series in New York last week, overturning a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Knicks. There was a hint that another fightback might be in the offing when Indiana slashed a 20-point New York lead to just 10 points in the third quarter. But the Knicks regrouped and stretched their lead once more before closing out the win to keep the series alive. It was the first time in the series that the Pacers' potent offense has been restricted to less than 100 points and means Indiana will now have to win at home on Saturday to avoid a decisive game seven back in New York next Monday. (AFP)
