Tyrese Haliburton bounced back from his worst offensive game of the season with one of his best as he scored 37 points to help the visiting Indiana Pacers overcome a 20-point deficit and beat the Atlanta Hawks 157-152 on Tuesday.
Indiana improved to 3-0 and Atlanta dropped to 1-2 in East Group A of the NBA in-season tournament. Indiana clinched a spot in the quarterfinal knockout round.
Haliburton, who scored a season-low 12 points against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, recovered to score 26 in the third quarter alone on Tuesday, sparking a comeback. He finished 11-for-18 from the floor and 9-for-15 on 3-point attempts while adding 16 assists and five rebounds.
However, the game was not secured until Buddy Hield made a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left to put the Pacers ahead 155-152. Atlanta had a chance to tie when Trae Young stole the ball with 13 seconds left, but Dejounte Murray opted to drive for a layup rather than take a 3-pointer and missed the shot.
Indiana also got 24 points from Hield, who was 6-for-6 from 3-point range, and 21 points from Obi Toppin.
Atlanta got 38 points and eight assists from Young, 28 points from Murray and 26 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Hawks have lost three straight overall and four straight at home.
The Hawks were red-hot from the field in the first half and set a franchise record for points when they led 86-73 at halftime. Atlanta, led by Bogdanovic with 22, shot 62.3 percent (33-for-53) on field-goal attempts and 55.6 percent on 3-point tries (10-for-18).
The score was tied 32-32 with 1:17 left in the first quarter before the Hawks steadily built a 20-point lead, going ahead 78-58 on Jalen Johnson’s dunk with 3:26 until halftime.
Haliburton got cranked up in the third quarter and pushed the Pacers to a 119-114 lead. Haliburton, who was 8-for-9 from the field with seven 3s in the quarter, knocked down a 3-pointer to give Indiana a 112-110 advantage with 1:21 left.
Indiana grew the lead to 10 points when Toppin made a layup with 9:35 remaining. But Atlanta charged back to go ahead 150-149 on a basket by Young with 1:32 left.
–Field Level Media
