Tyrese Haliburton Leads Pacers To A Game 4 Victory Vs. The Knicks

In the Eastern Conference finals, the road team has been the one to win each game as the Indiana Pacers won Games 1 and 2 in New York while the New York Knicks won Game 3 against the Pacers in Indiana. A lot of pressure was on the Pacers and star point guard Tyrese Haliburton to win Game 4 and go to New York up three-to-one on the Knicks, and he answered the call.

Haliburton recorded a 32-point, 15-assist and 12-rebound triple-double to lead the Pacers to a 130-121 victory that gave them a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference and one game away from the NBA Finals.

Haliburton is one of three players to record 30+ points, 12+ rebounds and 15+ assists in a playoff game, joining Oscar Robertson in 1962 and Nikola Jokic in 2023. The one thing that makes this stat line so historic is that he did all of this production without turning the ball over, which has never been done before in playoff history.

“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Haliburton said postgame. “Just trying to play my best. I felt like I let the team down in Game 3. I could have been so much better. I felt like I responded the right way today.”

Haliburton and the Pacers set the tone from the start. Pascal Siakam scored 30 points, shooting 11-of-21 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Contributions from Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner helped the Pacers offensively and defensively as they combined for 29 points, three blocks and two steals. One of the biggest contributors was Bennedict Mathurin, who had only 12 minutes in Game 4 but took advantage of every minute out there. He scored 20 points and got to the free-throw line multiple times, as he was 10-of-11 from the line.

The Pacers shot 51.1% from the field and 40.6% on 3-pointers in Game 4.

“Just getting back to us,” said Nesmith postgame. “Playing our game and doing what we do best. Pushing the pace.”

In addition to Haliburton’s scoring ability, the Pacers had 33 points on 14-of-22 (63.6%) shooting from Haliburton’s passes. He prides himself on getting people the ball without turning the ball over.

“It’s pretty remarkable, but this has become his thing,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said postgame. “There will be a new statistical category, perhaps, named after him somewhere down the line.”