Pacers dispatch Celtics, advance to In-Season Tournament Semifinals

The Indiana Pacers are the first team to advance the semifinals of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas after finishing atop the Celtics 122-112 behind the first triple-double of Tyrese Haliburton’s career.

Haliburton finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists joining Domantas Sabonis – who he was traded for less than two years ago – as the only players in franchise history to hit those marks in a single game.

He was flanked by standout performances by Buddy Hield (21 points, game-high +29) and Myles Turner (17 points, 10 rebounds).

Bennedict Mathurin (16 points, five rebounds), Aaron Nesmith (14 points, 6-of-10 shooting), Bruce Brown (13 points, eight rebounds) also contributed for Indiana.

Boston overcame a hot Pacers start to take a seven-point lead into the half before an extended 28-11 run saw the Pacers open up a double-digit lead.

Both teams went blow-for-blow in the fourth with the Celtics managing to wrestle the lead back with under five minutes to play only for the Pacers to seal it with a 9-0 run sparked by a Haliburton four-point play that sent the Indianapolis crowd into a frenzy.

Despite being dominated on the boards and in the paint, the Pacers managed to stay afloat thanks in large part to Boston’s inability to take care of the ball (17 turnovers for 17 points) and poor outside shooting (12-of-41).

It was Jayson Tatum (32 points, 12 rebounds, six assists) and Jaylen Brown (30 points, nine rebounds) who led the way for the Celtics whilst Derrick White (18 points, eight assists) and Sam Hauser (15 points, 5-of-7 threes) were also key.

The Pacers will play the winner of tomorrow’s Knicks-Bucks game in the semifinals of the In-Season Tournament on Friday.

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