Haliburton makes history as Pacers outlast Knicks in Game 4

One more win.

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

We were going fast, ladies and gentlemen. Everyone was out and running, but especially Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, whose offense fueled basically everything that the Pacers did well on that end (although Aaron Nesmith was quite good as well) as they combined for 26 first quarter points on 12 shots. 

The early returns of the double big lineup out of New York were relatively poor for the Blue-and-Orange. However, they have a mega star of their own, Jalen Brunson, who did a tremendous job of scoring alongside the Pacers star duo. Pivot-pivot faders, aggressive pulls from downtown, savvy And-1 push shots - he brought it all. Other Knicks contributors peppered the scoresheet, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in line with the Pacers, who blasted out to 43 points in the opening frame, including a positive stint from Bennedict Mathurin (!) who hit a pull-up middy, darted in for a layup on a beautiful cut, and had a well timed double. Pacers up 8! 

We got about a two-minute stretch of the Pacers trying to get away with a lineup that featured neither of their stars near the top end of the second quarter - and it didn’t go very well. The Knicks also capitalized on a bit of scrambled play that started with Karl-Anthony Towns doubles, and ended up with the likes of Delon Wright hitting a triple - who was dogging Haliburton with a full-court press. On the other side the Pacers got a little bit jumbled up with what they were trying to attack. 

Shades of Game 3 as the Knicks climbed all the way back to take the lead after Towns got to the line again. Haliburton immediately canned a triple to take the lead back though. Then Towns got back to the line to tie things up again. Then Haliburton took it to the rim for a layup! Then Towns drove for a layup! Stars! Tie game! 

The game got really, really fast for the final stretch of the first half. Running, sprinting, galloping from both teams. Of course, it ultimately benefited the Pacers, and even though there was a couple silly plays made, they extended the lead back up to five before the buzzer sounded. 

Haliburton, with his fingerprints all over everything, had put up 20-9-10 in the first 24 minutes of the game - 18 of which he played at a +12. His aggression was a defining feature of not just the offensive success, but his teams ability to close out defensive possessions. He joined the gang to rebound. 

Charles Barkley thinks the Pacers need to look to Siakam more often when the game slows down. I tend to agree. The Pacers had a lot go right in the first half, but they were still playing a really polarized version of basketball where their half-court offense wasn’t good enough, and their defense certainly wasn’t either. They had lots to clean up. 

First play of the second half? Flatten out for Siakam, and he put Towns on skates for a short middy make. Then they got a steal and a run out for a Siakam dunk. Despite the Knicks not scoring at all to begin, the Pacers did string together what I thought were three poor possessions in a row where they settled for triples. However, an inverted pick-and-roll for Siakam the next time down got him a paint touch, a big rotating over, and a kick out to Turner for a wide open triple. A good triple. The Pacers shot out to a 12-point lead with this.

The Pacers kept going back to the Siakam mismatch, as he was cooking Towns. That was actually on both ends, by the way, as Siakam forced misses from Towns, but unfortunately Mitchell Robinson was able to bulldoze his way to offensive rebounds repeatedly. He had five offensive rebounds in the first handful of minutes of the third quarter. The tough thing for the Pacers was the lack of Tony Bradley’s roll gravity and how that affected a lot of their screening actions. It forced them into tougher looks, later in the clock. Once Turner checked back in, the first roll to the bucket hit pay dirt. 

Brunson had a masterful stretch of getting middle and getting to the line as the game slowed way, way down. Haliburton caught his third foul on a reach in on Brunson, and the Knicks had a clear idea in mind: hunt Haliburton. They tried to post Bridges against him for a bucket, but it ended up in a turnover. Then Haliburton took it to the rack for a layup and swiped the ball from Brunson on the other end. A super strong response from the Pacers and their star guard. 

What the Pacers needed most, though? Pace. The Knicks were well suited for a slow, free throw competition, and especially so when Siakam wasn’t on the floor to put wind in the Pacers half-court sails. Almost as if he heard me writing it, Mathurin burst onto the scene for an And-1 layup. 11 points in 6 minutes of play. Unfortunately he fouled Brunson the next play down, sending him to the line again. 

Chants of “FLOPPER!” Rung out. They meant little to Brunson, who calmly hit his freebies. Haliburton calmly hit a 27-foot triple after Brunson blew a defensive coverage, though. The battle on the glass went to the Pacers at the very end of the quarter. Brunson wrestled Mathurin to the floor, sending him to the line for two. Then, Hart had a loose ball foul that sent Bradley to the line for free throws that he would split. A run at the end of the quarter, and one that sent the Pacers up by 11, with 12 minutes to go. 

O.G. Anunoby, who had been quietly helping push the Knicks forward with a range of self created looks, hit the first bucket of the final frame off a pin down and into a step back jumper. T.J> McConnell hit a spinning fader of his own to return the favor. Then Mathurin got a dunk out of a SLOB, before hitting a slipping Siakam for a layup out of a pick-and-roll possession. THEN he found Siakam for a triple from the corner pocket! This was as perfect a stretch from Mathurin as I can recall. Seriously impressive work from the Pacers' young guard, and at a time where they really needed more pop. Hell yeah. The Pacers exploded out to a 15-point lead over that stretch. 

We got a sloppy stretch of play, where everything happened, but hardly any points were scored (an Anunoby heave is the only thing that dropped in) and at the end of it the Pacers checked Haliburton in with a 14-point lead and eight minutes of the bonus to work with. 

The next four minutes of play were not dominant at all, as the Knicks broke off a 10-2 run as the Pacers offense sputtered. As soon as Siakam stepped back on the floor, he canned a triple. The Knicks had more, and were pressing. The lead evaporated to six, and long dribbling Haliburton had Carlisle call a timeout mid size up on an iso. The Pacers star guard looked to the bench shocked. Obviously, Carlisle wasn’t liking what he was seeing. 

Three minutes to go. 

The very next play was a stagnant, broken high pick-and-roll that resulted in a long middy miss for Nembhard (who was 1-8 from the floor) but Siakam beat Anunoby on the glass to keep it alive and Turner got fouled going up. The Pacers scrambled the next time down, scraping, clawing to hang with the Knicks, and Nesmith took a charge against a wild Anunoby. Nesmith and Towns crashed together on a contest, that was called a foul, challenged, and ultimately ruled to be an offensive foul on Turner, who pushed Towns into Nesmith. 

Seven-point lead. Two minutes to go. 

Siakam and Anunoby crash together. This game is rock em sock em, ohmydays. Siakam back cut and wrestled with Hart to foul him out and hit two free throws. For a stretch it seemed like every Knicks possession was a Bridges three, and he missed them all. Turner fouled out while sending Anunoby to the line. 

While the Knicks were obsessed chasing Nesmith the Pacers, or rather Haliburton, eeked out a BLOB that found Toppin for a triple. 10-point lead, 30 seconds left. 

By the way, that was Haliburton’s 15th assist. He registered the third ever 30+ 10+ 15+ game in playoff history, joining Oscar Robertson and Nikola Jokic. With no turnovers. The 0 turnovers qualification had him standing alone, by the way. Absolutely masterful. Glad his pops was in the building for this one. 

“Hell yeah! I’m glad pops in the building man.” - Haliburton post game

The Knicks sent the Pacers to the line repeatedly, but the Pacers hit enough them to stay comfortable, and it put Mathurin into the 20-point club for the game. 

The trio of Haliburton, Siakam, and Mathurin, and no doubt led by the first name up there, spurred the Pacers forward, and now, one win away from the NBA Finals. 

You have a mega star on your hands, Pacers fans. 

Have a blessed day.