Haliburton leads Pacers into semifinals
INDIANAPOLIS — All-star guard Tyrese Haliburton recorded the first triple-double of his career and completed a tiebreaking fourpoint play with 1:33 left as the surprising Indiana Pacers ousted the Boston Celtics from the NBA In-season Tournament with a 122112 quarterfinal victory Monday night.
Haliburton finished with 26 points, 16 in the second half, to go with 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Myles Turner added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and seven Pacers finished in double figures as
Indiana remained unbeaten in the tournament after finishing group play with a 4-0 mark.
“It means the world to me to represent Indiana and this organization,” Haliburton said. “I don’t even know if it was as much about what was at stake, as what they did to us the last time. I think that (51-point loss) left a bad taste in our mouths.”
The Pacers will face Milwaukee or New York in Thursday’s semifinals at T-mobile Arena.
The Celtics were led by Jayson Tatum’s 32 points and 12 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown had 30 points and nine rebounds. All-star Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth straight game with a strained left calf as Boston’s three-game winning streak ended thanks to a late 9-0 run, which began with Haliburton’ basket.
Indiana changed the game in the third quarter, charging back from a 56-48 halftime deficit to tie the score at 71 before pulling out to an 85-74 lead.
Boston finally tied the score at 94 on Brown’s 3-pointer with 6:07 to go. There were six more ties before Haliburton drew a foul on his 27-foot rainbow jumper.
■ Pelicans 127, Kings 117: At Sacramento, Calif., Brandon Ingram scored 30 points as New Orleans beat Sacramento in the quarterfinals to earn a trip to
Las Vegas. Ingram helped New Orleans erase an early deficit, and the Pelicans never trailed in the second half as they advanced to play the winner of Tuesday night’s game between Phoenix and the Los Angeles Lakers. Herb Jones added 23 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 18 to give the Pelicans their third win over Sacramento in the past two weeks. De’aaron Fox scored 30 points and Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double for the Kings. Sacramento lost for the first time in the tournament after sweeping all four games in group play.