Tyrese Haliburton shines in overtime and sets career high in assists to guide Indiana Pacers past Houston Rockets

Tyrese Haliburton scored over 40% of his points on Thursday night in overtime. He outscored the Houston Rockets by himself in the extra frame as the Indiana Pacers pulled off a win at home.

The overtime score was 19-10 Pacers, and Haliburton had 12 points and two assists in the bonus period. He was terrific down the stretch and saved the Pacers from a loss against the lowly Rockets.

"He took over the game in the overtime. He certainly has demonstrated that [late game play] is what he's about," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Haliburton. He, and the rest of the franchise, trust Haliburton in key moments.

"Just got going... I was due to make one three today. So once that went in, that kind of got me going. Guys were just trusting me. That's a big thing here. My teammates, guys that aren't playing, coaches, front office. They trust me to close games," Haliburton said when describing his overtime period. He tried to forget some of his earlier portions of the game and instead focus on getting it done in the additional five minutes. It worked.

It was the second time in less than a week that Haliburton performed in the clutch. He hit a game winner five nights prior in Chicago to give the blue and gold a key win over the Bulls, and he has been the team's leader in crunch time all season long. He is the closer for the Pacers, and he was again against the Rockets.

And yet, that might not have been the best part of Haliburton's performance on Thursday.

Instead, the highlight may have been the All-Star guard's 19 assists. That's a career high for the 23-year old, and the third-most dimes by an NBA player in a game this season. Only James Harden, on two different occasions, has cleared 20 assists in a game.

Haliburton has thrown 17 assists in a game twice before, once with the Pacers and once with the Sacramento Kings. And Haliburton had 17 assists at the end of regulation on Thursday, too, so the extra period was only slightly relevant towards the career outing.

In Haliburton's prior two games with 17 assists, he had 13 and 19 points. This time, he had 29. He dominated the game in a way that he never has before.

"Early in the game, we were getting a lot of stops like steals and stuff and getting me the outlets and I was just finding guys," Haliburton said of his assists. "Me and Myles [Turner] kinda got going in the pick and roll," he added before noting that the Rockets changed their coverage on Turner during the game, which slowed his numbers.

"Guys are just making shots. Guys are cutting, guys are reading me... there's no such thing as assists if guys aren't making shots," Haliburton concluded. He always makes sure to credit his teammates on his big passing nights.

Haliburton's 19 assists generated 45 points for the blue and gold — he created 12 twos and seven triples with his passing. Combine that with his 29 points and he was responsible for 74 of the team's 134 scoreboard ticks, good for 55.2%. He did everything he could to help the team win.

In the end, he was a +14 in a nine-point victory. His performance was vital, and he did it with his passing, scoring, and pace setting. Despite an off shooting night from deep (2/9), Haliburton had a 59.4% true shooting percentage. He still found a way to be efficient by getting to the rim, drawing fouls, and finally hitting jumpers in overtime.

"We all have a lot of belief in him," center Myles Turner said of Haliburton after the game.

In the end, Haliburton finished with 29 points, 19 assists, and two rebounds. He had just one turnover. Seven of his assists came in the first quarter, and he dominated in the overtime period. His stat line pops off the page, and it was all necessary to get the Pacers a win.

And in the end, Haliburton thinks he could have reached 20 assists. "I would blame Buddy [Hield] for not having 20," he said. Hield and Jalen Smith both missed shots in overtime that would have netted Haliburton a 20th assist.

"I see he blamed me for the 20th assist... I'll take that blame," Hield said in the locker room after the action. "Hats off, he had a great game closing."

Haliburton continues to improve on a month-by-month basis, and he is averaging 27.8 points and 13.3 assists per game since the All-Star break. He has been brilliant of late, and his masterful performance on Thursday was the most recent display of the All-Star guard's excellence.

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