Haliburton’s all-around brilliance powered the Pacers to a 130-121 win over the New York Knicks, giving Indiana a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. From the opening tip, Haliburton was in control, setting the tone for a crucial victory that puts the Pacers one win away from the NBA Finals.
Haliburton became the first player in playoff history to put up 30 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds without a turnover since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78, according to ESPN Research, and in doing so helped the Pacers move within one win of the NBA Finals.
"I was just trying to be aggressive," Haliburton said. "Just trying to play my best. I felt like I let the team down in Game 3. I could have been so much better. I felt like I responded the right way today."
Game 5 is Thursday night in New York.
Haliburton put on a show on the same night his father, John, was back in attendance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the first time since the opening round. He missed the last eight playoff games after an on-court incident with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the conclusion of that first-round series. The Pacers allowed John Haliburton to return for Game 4 and sit in a suite.
Haliburton acknowledged he was happy to have his father in attendance, but he was more proud of the way both he and the Pacers responded after losing Sunday.
"I just want to be able to prove that I can respond when my back's against the wall, when our team's back is against the wall," he said. "This is a big win for us because if we go back down there 2-2, it's a little different momentum-wise."
In addition to Haliburton's father, the Pacers brought out a plethora of former stars for the game, including Jermaine O'Neal, George Hill and Lance Stephenson, as well as celebrities such as WWE Hall of Famer Triple H, rapper 50 Cent, singers John Mellencamp and Jelly Roll to offset the usual crew of Knicks celebrity fans -- film director Spike Lee and actors Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller all made the trip to Indianapolis.
Haliburton and the Pacers set the tone from the start. Pascal Siakam added 30 points and Bennedict Mathurin, who had seen his minutes decrease in the first three games of this series, broke out for 20 points off the bench. Overall, Indiana shot 51% from the field and 40.6% from 3.
"Just getting back to us," Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith said. "Playing our game and doing what we do best. Pushing the pace."
And Haliburton was the key to it all. In addition to his scoring, the Pacers scored 33 points on 14-of-22 (63%) shooting off Haliburton's passes. And he managed to do it all without turning the ball over, something he said he prides himself on considering he works on it all season long.
"It's pretty remarkable, but this has become his thing," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "There will be a new statistical category, perhaps, named after him somewhere down the line.
"Him and Chris Paul, these guys, there aren't a lot of guys. I know [John] Stockton didn't turn it over much back when he played, LeBron James didn't turn it over very much. You can go right down the line, some of the all-time greats. And so I know he takes great pride in it and that's a motivating factor."
