The Indiana Pacers cooled down the hottest team in the NBA on Tuesday night. In the NBA In-Season Tournament, they went on the road and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, who had yet to lose a game since trading James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The driving force behind the upset victory for Indiana was point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton has taken his game to another level since being acquired from the Sacramento Kings in the Domantas Sabonis blockbuster.
It is a deal both teams likely feel they won, as Sabonis helped the Kings snap an NBA-record 16-year playoff drought and Haliburton has turned into an All-Star. He is also staking a claim to being one of the best point guards in the NBA.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Tyrese Haliburton, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers Updates
Against the 76ers, Haliburton scored 33 points on 11-of-18 from the field, 7-of-12 from 3-point range and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Along with the efficient scoring, he grabbed seven rebounds and handed out 15 assists without turning the ball over once.
That performance is one of the best that we have seen in the 2023-24 season and was a record-setting one. Haliburton became the first player ever to record 30+ points, 5+ rebounds, 15+ assists, 5+ 3-pointers and zero turnovers in a single game.
When you combine that with what he did over the weekend, even more history was made. That was a second consecutive dominant performance by the Iowa State product against Philadelphia.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Tyrese Haliburton, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers Updates
In the first game of their home-and-home on Sunday, Haliburton scored 25 points with 17 assists and zero turnovers. The 32 combined assists are the most in NBA history in a two-game stretch without a turnover.
That wasn’t the only record that Haliburton set with that performance. According to ESPN Stats & Info, he is the first player in NBA history to record at least 25 points and 15 assists with zero turnovers in consecutive games since turnovers were tracked starting in the 1977-78 season.
This was a truly special performance by the Pacers’ star point guard, who is cementing his status among the NBA’s elite at the position. Doing what he did against one of the best teams in the NBA is quite an impressive feat as Indiana looks like they are ready to breakthrough in the Eastern Conference.
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