Haliburton's Triple-Double Marvel Lifts Pacers Over Knicks to 3-1 Series Lead
Haliburton Hits Uncharted Territory in Playoff History
It felt like Tyrese Haliburton had the basketball on a string and New York just couldn’t snip it. The Indiana Pacers guard led his squad to a 130-121 win in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but it wasn’t just another triple-double. Haliburton dropped 32 points, dealt 15 assists, pulled in 12 rebounds—and didn’t cough up the rock once. That stat line? We’ve never seen it in the NBA Playoffs, not since turnovers even became a stat back in 1977-78. Not Michael, not Magic, not LeBron. Just Haliburton.
His zero-turnover beauty has only found cousins in the regular season, from Nikola Jokic last year and James Harden a couple seasons ago. But Haliburton doing it under playoff pressure with so much on the line isn’t just cool, it’s wild. And it couldn't have come at a better time for the Pacers, who are suddenly on the doorstep of the franchise’s second-ever NBA Finals appearance with a 3-1 lead.
Pacer Chemistry Outclasses Knicks’ Heavy Hitters
Haliburton’s fingerprints were everywhere, but he wasn’t alone. Pascal Siakam stomped the gas with 30 points, using his length and quick first step to leave defenders and rims quivering. Even role players got in on the fun—Obi Toppin hit a crucial three that felt like the oxygen mask the Pacers needed down the stretch as the Knicks tried to claw back.
The Knicks? They had grit. Jalen Brunson kept torching defenders for 31 points, Karl-Anthony Towns bullied his way to a 24-point, 12-rebound double-double, and OG Anunoby racked up 22. But it never looked like enough—Indiana regularly built double-digit leads, and every Knicks comeback started to look like pushing a boulder uphill.
But the main thing that made the Haliburton game a clinic was his surgical pick-and-roll, especially with big man Miles Turner. The Pacers kept finding seams as Haliburton exploited every defensive slip, forcing the Knicks into awkward switches and uncomfortable help scenarios. And when the ball needed to move, Haliburton made it snap around the perimeter—always to the open man, always just ahead of the recovering defense.
Defensively, Haliburton read passing lanes for four steals, keeping New York guessing on the other end. The Pacers have a streak alive—they haven’t dropped two in a row since early March. This sudden surge is making people sit up and take notice, especially with Indiana now just one hot night away from the league’s biggest stage.
Game 5 heads back to New York, where desperation will take over for the Knicks and pressure will ramp up on Indiana. But right now, Haliburton’s triple-double magic stands as a postseason moment that seems destined for highlight reels—and maybe for franchise history, too.