Haliburton’s Historic Triple-Double Propels Pacers to Brink of NBA Finals

Tyrese Haliburton delivered a playoff performance for the ages Tuesday night, powering the Indiana Pacers to a 130-121 win over the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. His dominant triple-double — 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, and zero turnovers — etched his name into the NBA history books as the first player to post a 30-15-10 game without a single miscue in the postseason.

The victory puts the Pacers just one win away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000, as they now lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 heading into Game 5 in New York.

“I was just trying to be aggressive, trying to respond,” Haliburton said postgame, referencing his self-acknowledged letdown in Game 3. “I felt like I let the team down in Game 3, so it was important for me to just come out here and make plays.”

And make plays he did. In addition to his triple-double, Haliburton hit five three-pointers and nabbed four steals, controlling the pace and pushing the Pacers to a fastbreak advantage of 22-9 — extending Indiana’s series edge in transition points to a staggering 65-23.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was particularly impressed by Haliburton’s ability to protect the ball. “To not have any turnovers in any of those types of situations is pretty remarkable,” Carlisle said. “But this has become his thing. He happens to do some impressive statistical things, but he’s well aware that all of this far transcends statistics.”

Indiana’s supporting cast also stepped up. Pascal Siakam notched 30 points — his second such outing of the series — while Bennedict Mathurin added 20 in limited minutes off the bench. Aaron Nesmith returned from an ankle sprain to contribute 16, and Myles Turner chipped in with 13 before fouling out.

The Knicks, meanwhile, had their offensive weapons firing, with Jalen Brunson scoring 31 and Karl-Anthony Towns adding 24 points and 12 rebounds despite re-injuring his left knee. OG Anunoby dropped 22, but it wasn’t enough to overcome defensive breakdowns.

“We scored 120 points, but our defense wasn’t good enough,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau admitted. “Our rebounding was good. But our defense and our turnovers hurt us.”

Acknowledging Haliburton’s brilliance, Thibodeau emphasized, “You don’t guard great players in this league individually. It’s your entire team.”

With the Pacers just one win away from a historic return to the NBA Finals, the pressure shifts to New York ahead of Thursday’s do-or-die Game 5. As Siakam put it: “We haven’t done anything yet… Can’t get too happy with the highs, can’t get too low with the lows.”