Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Haliburton’s historic night leads the Pacers to a 3-1 lead over the Knicks

Tyrese Haliburton’s signature performance- 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds and zero giveaways- propelled the Pacers to a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. He became the first player since turnovers were recorded (1977-78) to put up such a mammoth stat line. The Knicks will try holding them off in Game 5, but they come with bad intentions and the psychological edge that they can’t be stopped at Madison Square Garden.

New York matched Indiana’s three-point shooting but couldn’t hang when the afterburners were activated. The hosts were also surgical in the half court, scoring 112.6 points per 100 plays, good enough for the 87th percentile per Cleaning the Glass.

Coach Rick Carlisle said his crew had a difficult film review on Monday, but the painful honesty recalibrated their focus.

Haliburton was one rebound shy of a triple-double when the hosts led 69-64 at halftime. His fingertips were smoking like the end of a discharged barrel after breaking  coverages in the fast lane and raining four trifectas.

Additionally, Aaron Nesmith was barely affected by his right ankle sprain as he got over screens and buried a dozen points before intermission. Carlisle said, “I was really concerned after Game 3 what today was going to feel like for him. He got a lot of treatment yesterday… He was determined to be in this game.”

The Knicks had kept it close because they went on a 16-8 run when Haliburton rested at the beginning of the second quarter, and OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson plus Karl-Anthony Towns countered with baskets from short, middle and long range.

Then Haliburton had four assists to four teammates, and targeted Brunson plus Towns for a blow-by and shot against drop coverage in the third. The Pacers eventually took a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, but had it reduced to six with over four minutes left as they sloppily committed three turnovers, put the Knicks on the line for 10 attempts (seven made) and were burned by two closely covered 3-pointers.

Nonetheless, Andrew Nembhard, who was gun shy in Game 3, was colder than a corpse, but doghouse escapee Bennedict Mathurin tallied 20 bench points, including seven in the fourth quarter. In crunch time, Haliburton burst into the lane for a layup through the middle and set up former Knick Obi Toppin with an inbound pass that was the bayonet through New York’s heart.

The Pacers won 130-121. They also had 20 points off turnovers, 16 via second chances and 22 on the break. Haliburton said he let the team down in Game 3 but was pleased with his effort on Tuesday. He also said, “This is a big win for us because if we go back down there [tied at] 2-2, that’s probably a little different momentum-wise.”

Game 5 is on Thursday.