INDIANAPOLIS — After missing Saturday’s win Miami Heat including upper respiratory tract infections, Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Halliburton Didn’t look like himself in the first half of Monday’s in-season tournament quarterfinals Boston Celtics.
“In the first half, I was dead,” Halliburton said afterward.
So, at halftime, Halliburton — at the direction of the athletic training staff — did something he’d never done before: He used an inhaler.
When the second half began, he looked like himself again – and the Pacers looked like a completely different team. Behind Halliburton’s first career triple-double — 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists in 40 minutes — Indiana emerged with a 122-112 win The Celtics are heavily favored to advance to the in-season tournament semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday.
“It feels good to win,” Halliburton said with a smile, “especially in a game where nobody expected us to.”
The Celtics, who entered the tournament with the NBA’s best record, were many people’s favorites to win three games this week and claim their first NBA Cup. Instead, an avalanche of plays from Halliburton and left the Celtics looking for an answer saw them head back to Boston early Tuesday morning.
It doesn’t matter that Boston has the league’s best defensive backcourt Jrue holiday And Derrick White; All Halliburton did was score or assist in Indiana’s first 19 points of the third quarter and 24 of its first 27 overall. He later buried a deep 3-pointer for a ridiculous four-pointer as he was fouled Jaylen Brown With 1:33 to go that put Indiana ahead for good — just minutes later he pulled Holiday out of his shoes with a ridiculous move and buried a 3-pointer in front of Indiana’s bench.
In total, it was a 24-minute rout that showed the basketball world why Halliburton and the Pacers entered the night with the NBA’s best offense holding an absurd four-point margin over 100 possessions — a margin larger than what separated the league’s second. -and -10th ranked offense.
And was serenaded with “MVP” chants at center late in the second half Miles Turner — who has been with the franchise since 2015, and its longest tenured player — couldn’t help but soak in an atmosphere that hasn’t been seen around these parts for quite some time.
“The story, the story behind it all makes it, you know, the most special,” Turner said. “And the fact that he’s got his opportunity, he’s able to take it and run with it … I mean, it’s not just about seeing where this franchise is, what it’s starting to become and what it could potentially be. It’s the same level. It’s Honestly, like I said, it goes back to the atmosphere. I didn’t hear the MVP song, maybe when (Victor) Oladipo was here, but Ty really came in and took over and that’s the fun thing.”
It was less “fun stuff” for Boston, which was left kicking itself for putting a game away — one that it led by seven points at halftime and that the Celtics likely took control of in the end. Minutes But the Pacers have been a team all season that has surprised their opponents with the hellish offensive speed they play with — and the Celtics, after holding Indiana to 29% 2-point shooting in the first half, learned that the hard way.
“We need to be more connected defensively,” said Jason Tatum, who finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds for Boston. “But, I mean, it’s the NBA. Sometimes guys are going to make plays. He’s hitting some tough shots. So it’s two ways.
“Guys get paid a lot to play basketball, and they’re pretty good.”
Halliburton certainly qualified as pretty good on Monday night. Much was made entering this game that he had never played on TNT prior to this game, and the Pacers weren’t shy about expressing why this tournament was a prime opportunity to keep Indiana — and by extension, Halliburton — at bay. A completely new national stage.
“The thing about season tournaments is that as you go along, you’re going to play two more games, win or lose against a better opponent in the quarterfinals,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “And so that’s something that’s great for us because we need a high level of competition. It’s really another thing that’s a simulator of playoff basketball. So that really helps us. And so, coming out with a win tonight was big for a lot of people. Because I mentioned.
“But I know it’s very special for (Tyreese) as well.”
The Pacers will now savor their victory as they wait to see if they face them New York Knicks or The Milwaukee Bucks Thursday in the semifinals in Sin City. But while there was a celebratory mood after Monday’s win, Halliburton insisted the goal was still far from being achieved.
“We wanted to be in this situation all year, and here we are,” Halliburton said.
“Now it’s not just about being here, it’s about winning.”
Meanwhile, Tatum and the Celtics had a few days left to speculate about what might happen.
“Yeah. I wanted to go to Vegas,” Tatum said with a wry smile. “I didn’t want to go home.
“I wanted to go to Vegas, so yeah, I’m crazy. Next year, I guess.”
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