Tyrese Haliburton's heroics guide Indiana Pacers to important win over Chicago Bulls
Before the Indiana Pacers took on the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle stressed the importance of his team getting off to a better start. Indiana took down Chicago in each of the team's last two meetings, sure, but both wins required a 20+ point comeback from the blue and gold.
"The strategy is to get down 20," Carlisle joked before the game. Then, he got more serious about the impressive comebacks. "It's a terrible syndrome to get into. Our team has responded all year to getting down early. The challenge is to start games better."
Slow starts have plagued the Pacers all season, but they had an effective opening to their battle with the Bulls on Sunday. The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, largely thanks to All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton's dominant start, but Indiana's second unit was impressive in the second frame and helped guide Indiana to a 67-60 halftime lead.
The Pacers have been a better second half team than first half team for most of the season. A halftime lead generally bodes well for the group, and they have crushed the Bulls in third and fourth quarters recently. They were feeling good at halftime.
"The second quarter was beautiful basketball by those guys. It was hard to get the starters back in the game," Carlisle said of the reserve unit. He said a lot of work behind the scenes went into Indiana's bench success in this game. "I thought our second unit really was the key to this game."
In the third quarter, the Pacers and Bulls went back-and-forth again, and Chicago only knocked the lead down by one point. The Pacers, who have closed games well all season against the Bulls, had to be happy with a six point advantage with 12 minutes to go.
That lead evaporated quickly. Thanks to a 9-0 Bulls run from the 8:52 mark in the fourth quarter until the 6:20 mark, Chicago trailed by just one with six minutes to go. That two-and-a-half minute stretch completely changed the makeup of the game, and suddenly, the Bulls had the momentum — and the crowd behind them.
The team from the Windy City took the lead a few times in the ensuing minutes, but the Pacers kept hanging around. DeMar DeRozan would score, then the Pacers would match it. Zach LaVine would find the bottom of the net only for Indiana to be his equal. With 60 seconds to go, it was a one possession game.
Both teams led for a portion of the final minute, but the Pacers ended up getting the ball late with the shot clock off and the game tied at 122. They would have a chance to get a win despite giving away their fourth quarter lead.
As he has so often this season, All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton attacked the clutch situation. And as he has also done often this season, he made a massive play, drilling a 30-foot three-point shot with 2.7 ticks remaining on the clock.
"Ty just hit a hellacious shot," Carlisle said after the game.
"I just shot the first one that I saw," Haliburton said of his look after seeing pressure from the defense. "It felt good."
Haliburton had 29 points and 11 assists, and he received praise for his balance of scoring and distributing. But in that moment, there was only one outcome coming. "Well, the game is on the line, so there's no balance," Haliburton said with a smile. "[I'm] just shooting the ball."
Haliburton has earned the trust and respect of his teammates to take those shots. Other Pacers knew he would make the right play, and he ultimately did. "I knew it was good. He'd been cooking all game," forward Oshae Brissett said. "I was telling them to get the buses ready so we can get up out of here."
Haliburton's double double was the story, but other Indiana players had solid outings. Rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin finished with 17 points and four rebounds, and fellow bench scorer Chris Duarte had 15 points. Their scoring and passing were huge for the team's success.
Myles Turner dropped 16 points while Jordan Nwora and Brissett each had 10.
Indiana improved to 29-36 with the win. They clinched the standings tiebreaker over the Bulls and moved into 11th in the Eastern Conference standings with 17 games to go. They are within striking distance of the play-in tournament, and this win, headlined by Haliburton's heroics, are a big reason why.
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