The Pacers took a 2-1 lead in their first round series against the Bucks.
The Indiana Pacers have grabbed temporary control of their first round series of the NBA Playoffs against the Bucks with a 121-118 win in Game 3. The game went to double overtime following a pair of huge shots from Bucks star Khris Middleton. But it was Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton who had the final say with what ended up being the game winner.
Following the game, Haliburton explained what his message to his team was heading into that possession.
“I just knew I was shooting the ball,” Haliburton said. “I told everybody to just give me the ball, lets’ go win the game. He was trying to push him up to get Pat [Beverley] to go under and I saw his head turn a little bit so I knew I could attack.”
With the Pacers and Bucks tied at 118, Haliburton caught the ball in the backcourt, raced into the frontcourt and was able to get past Patrick Beverley. He got into the paint and knocked down a runner while getting fouled. He would make the free throw and then Khris Middleton missed on the game-tying shot.
The Pacers now head into Game 4 with a lot of momentum and confidence while the Bucks suddenly find themselves with injury concerns.
Tyrese Haliburton has blossomed into a star for the Pacers
Tyrese Haliburton has been one of the top rising stars in the NBA for the past few seasons. He was selected to his second consecutive All-Star game this season. Against the Bucks in Game 3, Haliburton finished with 18 points, ten rebounds, 16 assists and one blocked shot. He shot 8-22 from the field but was only 1-12 from the three point line.
Haliburton had another strong regular season. He played in 69 games for the Pacers at a little over 32 minutes per game despite dealing with a lingering hamstring issue. He averaged 20.1 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, a league-leading 10.9 assists and 1.2 steals with splits of 47.7 percent shooting from the field, 36.4 percent shooting from the three point line and 85.5 percent shooting from the free throw line.
Haliburton had gotten off to a decent start though during his first career playoff appearance. Through the first two games of this series, he had been averaging only 10.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocked shots. He had been shooting 47.1 percent from the field, 40 percent shooting from the three point line and 50 percent shooting from the free throw line.
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Pacers get all-around contributions in Game 3 in team win
While Tyrese Haliburton had a triple double and the game winner, the Pacers got strong contributions from everyone who played. They had six players reach double figures in scoring led by Myles Turner’s playoff career high 29 points.
Haliburton added 18 points, Pascal Siakam scored 17 points, Andrew Nembhard had 16 points, Obi Toppin added 15 points and Aaron Nesmith dropped 13 points. They also got solid contributions from TJ McConnell and Ben Sheppard as well. The only Pacer who didn’t score who played was Jalen Smith.
If the Pacers continue to get strong contributions from their bench, it will go a long way towards winning this series. They’ve outplayed the Bucks bench to this point.
