Tyrese Haliburton Sets Single Season Assist Record in 126-112 Win

1. First Quarter

In some of the recent games, the Indiana Pacers have struggled at the start of the game. Tonight, the Pacers did a solid job at not letting the depleted Oklahoma City Thunder get ahead to instill confidence without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Mid-way through the quarter though, OKC did take a nine-point lead after a Chet Holmgren pullup jumper. Indiana was not able to cut too much into that lead because the two teams were matching converted field goals and stops until the final two minutes. With 2:16 left in the quarter, OKC led 32-22. The Pacers closed the quarter on a 9-0 run with Obi Toppin converting a three at the end of the first to make it 32-31. Luguentz Dort led all scorers with 7 points followed by Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Chet Holmgren, and Josh Giddey with 6 points.

2. Second Quarter

It didn’t take long into the second quarter for the Pacers to take the lead. On their first offensive possession of the quarter, T.J. McConnell converted a midrange jumper to put Indiana ahead 33-32. Kenrich Williams responded with a layup to put OKC ahead again. Indiana then went on a 14-3 run to take its first double digit lead on a Jalen Smith dunk off an assist from McConnell. With 6:48 to go, the Thunder made it a one possession game with a Lindy Waters III two-point shot plus the free throw. Indiana then hit three consecutive threes with Myles Turner making the last two to put the Pacers ahead 56-46 with 5:19 left in the half. The largest lead in the first half for the Pacers was 69-56 with forty-eight seconds left after a Smith free throw. At halftime, Indiana led 69-59. Turner and Smith tied for the scoring lead with 12 points. OKC’s leading scorer was Holmgren with 10 points. In the first half, OKC shot 2/13 (15.4%) from three-point range. Indiana shot 10/21 (47.6%) from distance.

3. Third Quarter

To start the second half, neither team went on a run through the first five minutes. Both teams were exchanging baskets for the most part until the halfway point in the quarter. Kenrich Williams converted on a triple to make it 82-75 and then on OKC’s next possession, Holmgren scored from deep to put OKC within striking distance. The closest they got in the second half came when Williams converted to free throws. Indiana was ahead 82-80 with 4:43 left and then Tyrese Haliburton finally scored. Through the first 19 minutes, he was scoreless. He drilled a wide open three after the Williams free throws. Haliburton later put Indiana ahead by double digits again with a layup and then ended the quarter with a fading buzzer beating three. After three quarters, Indiana led 100-89. Siakam and Turner led all scorers with 16 points followed by 14 points from Dort and Giddey.

4. Fourth Quarter

To start the final twelve minutes of play, Rick Carlisle went with five bench players, and it paid off. Indiana’s bench started the quarter up eleven and they were able to push the lead to 18 points with a McConnell bank shot with 8:14 left in the game. Four of the starters would come back onto the floor with 6:53 left in the contest with a 111-98 advantage. Toppin put Indiana back ahead by 17 points with a dunk with 6:14 left. Oklahoma City did cut the Indiana lead down to 11 points, but Indiana never let the game get to single digits. Toppin and McConnell were critical in the quarter with six points. Toppin also had seven rebounds in the period. His dunk with forty-three seconds left was the final field goal of the game. Indiana won it 126-112.

5. Top Performers

Pascal Siakam (21p, 5r), Aaron Nesmith (17p, 4r, 4 threes), Myles Turner (16p), T.J. McConnell (16p, 10a, 5r), Obi Toppin (15p, 8r), Jalen Smith (12p, 6r), and Tyrese Haliburton (8p, 11a). For Oklahoma City, Luguentz Dort (22p), Kenrich Williams (18p, 8r), Chet Holmgren (15p, 8r, 3b), Josh Giddey (14p, 12a, 9r), Lindy Waters III (12p, 4r, 3a), and Isaiah Joe (10p, 4r, 3a). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana Pacers sweep season series vs Oklahoma City Thunder
• Indiana now 26-20 against teams above .500
  • Indiana is 18-14 against teams below .500
    • Only team in the NBA to have a better record against teams above .500
• Tyrese Haliburton passed Mark Jackson for most assists in a season (714) in franchise history
  • Mark Jackson’s record stood since 1997-1998 season
• Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 45th game with 10+ assists
• Pascal Siakam scored 10+ points for the 22nd time as an Indiana Pacer (37 games)
• T.J. McConnell recorded his 4th double-double of the campaign
• Aaron Nesmith’s 17 points are the most since scoring 21 points at Charlotte on 2/12/24
  • 17-4 when Aaron Nesmith scores 15+ points
  • 23rd game with 3+ threes
• Obi Toppin registered 15+ points for the 17th time of the season
  • Indiana is 13-4 in those games
• Indiana 6th in the Eastern Conference Standings – 4 games left
  • Have .5 game lead over Miami Heat (5 games left)
  • Have 1.5 game lead over Philadelphia 76ers (5 games left)
  • Trail Orlando Magic/New York Knicks by 1.5 games for 4th

7. Next Up

The Indiana Pacers play their biggest game of the season when the Miami Heat come to town on Sunday afternoon. Winner of the game will have the tiebreak in the Eastern Conference standings and will more than likely finish with the sixth seed. Pat Boylan will get things started at 4:30pm with the Kroger Pregame Show. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play starting at 5pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.