Haliburton, Pacers defeat Knicks in Game 4 of NBA East finals

The Indiana Pacers were one victory away from the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 thanks to Tyrese Haliburton’s unique performance.

In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals in Indianapolis, Haliburton led the Pacers to a 130-121 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, recording 32 points, 15 assists, and 12 rebounds without a turnover. In a postseason game, he is the first player in NBA history to record a stat line of 30-15-10-0.

In addition to recording his second postseason triple-double, Haliburton also recorded five 3-pointers and four steals for the Pacers, who led the best-of-seven series, 3-1.

After the Pacers’ Game 3 defeat on Sunday, Haliburton felt obligated to his teammates for the extraordinary effort.

Haliburton claimed that “I was just trying to be aggressive and respond.” In Game 3, I felt like I let the team down, so I had to step up and play. I was given the opportunity to play and play my game by the guys. It was a significant success for us.

The turnover column’s zero was the number that Pacers coach Rick Carlisle liked the most.

Carlisle remarked, “He was really throwing the ball ahead tonight, which was really important to us.” It’s remarkable to not experience turnovers in any of those circumstances. However, he has grown fond of this. He seems to take great pride in it, which is a strong motivating quality.

He does some impressive statistical work, but he is well aware that all of this transcends statistics.

On Thursday in New York, the Pacers will attempt to wrap up the series.

Fourth-seeded Indiana scored 30 points with Aaron Nesmith adding 20 after 12 plus minutes of bench work for them. Siakam’s second series 30-pointer came after him.

For the third-seeded Knicks, Jalen Brunson had 31 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and OG Anunoby had 22. For New York, Mikal Bridges added 12 points and 11 rebounds while Mikal Bridges added 12 points.

Tom Thibodeau, the coach of the Kansas City, said, “We scored 120 points, but our defense wasn’t good enough.” Our rebounding was adequate. However, we were penalized for our defense and turnovers.

In Game 4, Haliburton is the difference-maker.

Thibodeau attributed the breakdown to his team’s historic performance.

“Thibodeau said, “Haliburton’s a great player.” Great players in this league are not protected by one person. Your entire team is involved. And everyone will turn out differently if one guy doesn’t do their jobs.

Towns was hobbling at the finish after suffering a left knee injury for the second game in a row. Towns would be subject to an investigation, according to Thibodeau.

I’m only considering the loss, I say. Towns said of the knee at this moment, but I’m not thinking about it. When you don’t win, it’s disappointing. We didn’t accomplish the task enough.

Nesmith was declared good to go by Carlisle more than an hour before tip-off. Midway through Game 3 on Sunday, the 25-year-old forward sprained his right ankle.

Indiana, which shot 51.1 percent from the field and 13 of 32 (40.6%) from 3-point range, added 13 points before fouling out for Myles Turner. With a 22-9 edge in fastbreak points, the Pacers’ 65-23 advantage in that category increased to 65-23 overall.

The Knicks shot 46.3 percent of their shots from behind the arc, and they made 12 of 28 (42.9%). New York’s rebounding advantage was 44-33.

To wrap up a 13-0 run and take a 76-64 lead, the Pacers scored the first seven points of the second half.

With 3:59 remaining in the third quarter, Brunson made two free throws that reduced the Knicks’ deficit to 89-84. With 55.6 seconds left in the period, the Pacers took a 102-91 lead into the final stanza thanks to a 3-pointer by Haliburton.

Indiana held its largest lead at 111-96 with a five straight points from Siakam in the opening quarter. However, after Towns put it away with 4:24 left, New York scored seven straight to draw within 115-109.

After Obi Toppin hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, Indiana maintained its pace and extended its lead to 126-116.

Siakam, who was a star on the 2019 Toronto Raptors’ title-winning team, said, “We haven’t done anything yet.” Can’t get too excited about the highs, and can’t get too excited about the lows. My entire season-long speech would be that.

The Pacers led 69-64 at the break thanks to Haliburton’s 20 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. The final six points of the half came from India. Before the break, Brunson had 16 points for New York.