INDIANAPOLIS — After missing Saturday’s win over the Miami Heat with an upper respiratory infection, Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Haliburton didn’t look like himself in the first half of Monday’s in-season tournament quarterfinal against the Boston Celtics.
“The first half, I was dead,” Haliburton said later.
When the second half started, he looked like himself again — and the Pacers looked like a totally different team. Behind Haliburton’s first career triple-double — 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists in 40 minutes — Indiana emerged with a 122-112 victory over the heavily favored Celtics to advance to the in-season tournament semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday.
“It feels good to win,” Haliburton said with a smile, “especially in a game where nobody expected us to.”
The Celtics, who entered the tournament with the NBA’s best record, were many people’s selection to win all three games this week and claim the first-ever NBA Cup.
Instead, they found themselves flying back to Boston early Tuesday morning after an avalanche of plays from Haliburton and a second half left the Celtics searching for answers.
“We got to just be more connected defensively,” said Jayson Tatum, who finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds for Boston. “But, I mean, it’s the NBA. Sometimes guys are going to make plays. He hit some tough shots. So it’s kind of two fold.
“Guys get paid a lot of money to play basketball, and they’re pretty good.”
The Pacers will now savor their victory while they wait to see whether they’ll face the New York Knicks or the Milwaukee Bucks in Thursday’s semifinal in Sin City. But while there was a celebratory mood after Monday’s win, Haliburton was insistent that the goal is still far from being accomplished.
“We’ve wanted to be in this situation all year, and here we are,” Haliburton said.
“Now it’s not just about being here. It’s about winning.”