Tyrese Haliburton led the Indiana Pacers to a 128-119 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas, continuing his MVP campaign. Haliburton recorded a 27-point, seven-rebound, 15-assist stat line, along with zero turnovers, following his first triple-double against the Boston Celtics on Dec. 4.
The Pacers scored 128 points despite shooting 21% from the 3-point line. Arguably the team's most impressive feat was holding Giannis Antetokounmpo to six points in the fourth quarter. He finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough.
Positive Pacers Takeaways
Aaron Nesmith
There’s a reason Pacers coach Rick Carlisle gambled to keep Nesmith in the game with five fouls with roughly four minutes left in the game: to keep Antetokounmpo at bay. Throughout the game, Nesmith did a fantastic job getting underneath his skin and forcing misses and bad passes. It seems like the best way to stop Antetokounmpo is to tire him and force him to get to the free-throw line.
Chemistry
This is a group of young players who often make the extra pass. After a big play happens, the entire bench gets up to scream and jump around. That was the reaction after Haliburton’s step-back 3-pointer over Brook Lopez with 49.5 seconds left in the game.
Negative Pacers Takeaways
Inconsistencies
The Pacers' aforementioned 3-point shooting woes resulted in a 7-for-33 performance. Earlier in the week, they shot 47.5% from three against the Celtics. If this team wants to make a run in the NBA Playoffs, it has to get more consistent with its outside shooting. You can have a superstar like Haliburton play well and lead the team, but you cannot expect him to carry the team to victory every time.
What needs to happen for a win in the In-Season Tournament finals?
Nesmith continuing to fight defensively on the perimeter
Better 3-point shooting
Haliburton continuing to play his game and trust his teammates
A high tempo that leads to fast-break points
Next game: 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 10 on ABC/ESPN2 (Finals, NBA In-Season Tournament)
