Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner hit a combined 12 of 14 from 3-point range and their efforts of 33 and 18 points, respectively, helped the Indiana Pacers avoid a season sweep against the Toronto Raptors with a 111-91 rout on Wednesday in Indianapolis.
Haliburton went 12 of 15 from the field, including his 7-of-9 showing from beyond the arc. Turner shot 6 of 8 and made all five of his attempts from behind the arc.
Pascal Siakam had 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds for the Pacers.
Haliburton connected on his seventh made 3-pointer with 4:44 remaining in the game. The bucket ignited a 12-2 Indiana run that gave the club a 21-pint advantage.
Turner contributed to the late-game barrage on the ensuing possession when he knocked down his fifth triple, set up by one of Haliburton’s game-high 11 assists.
Haliburton followed up with an emphatic dunk when Turner returned the favor with an assist of his own, after Turner hauled down his ninth rebound of the night. He added another to log a double-double.
Siakam capped the run with a lay-up against his former teammates. Although Indiana led almost the entire game, including the entire second half, the late stretch put away a Toronto team that remained in striking distance for most of the contest.
Both offenses struggled to find consistent offensive footing for the first two-plus quarters, but Indiana showed life late in the third period.
Five Pacers scored during the 14-2 run, which included Andrew Nembhard layups to end the third and begin the fourth quarters. The surge opened up a 17-point Indiana lead, which gave the Pacers enough cushion to withstand Toronto’s rally effort.
The Raptors trimmed the deficit to as few as eight points thanks in part to Immanuel Quickley. He shot 4 of 6 in the fourth quarter en route to a team-high 18 points.
Toronto could get no closer, however, shooting 42.5 percent from the floor, including 6 of 27 from 3-point range. Indiana shot 53.1 percent from the floor to improve to 21-4 on the season when making 50 percent or more of its field-goal attempts.
RJ Barrett, who gave Indiana fits in two Toronto wins over the Pacers earlier this season, was limited to 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Jonathan Mogbo, scored 16 points off the bench — one off the rookie’s career-high netted in December vs. Oklahoma City.
–Field Level Media
