The Pacers defeated the Celtics 122-112 to advance to the semifinals of the midseason tournament.
Haliburton was a standout performer in the game, recording a triple-double of 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, especially in the final 50 seconds of the game, leading a 9-0 winning spurt that was the most iconic of his career.
Although Haliburton has proven himself to be a superstar player, his performance needs further validation due to his lack of playoff experience. However, Haliburton's excellent performance in today's mid-season tournament semi-finals was undoubtedly impressive.
In the first half, Haliburton made only 3 of 8 shots, contributed 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, and the performance was not satisfactory, resulting in the team trailing by seven points at 48-55 at halftime.
However, after the rematch, Haliburton contributed 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in a single quarter, showing the ability to explode strongly, helping the Pacers turn the tide in an instant. With McConnell leading the bench to a great performance in the third quarter, the team went into the final quarter with a score of 85-81.
When Tatum and Brown led the Celtics on a frantic comeback, Haliburton began to embark on the road to superstar proof. In the closing stages of the game, the Celtics took the lead and Haliburton hit a crucial three-pointer against the league's top perimeter defender, Holiday Holiday.
Subsequently, Tatum relied on his personal ability to chase the score to 105-105. In the decisive 1 minute and 35 seconds, Haliburton needed just 50 seconds to turn the tide of the game. He first hit Brown's defense and scored 3+1 to give his team a four-point lead at 109-105.
Then, Haliburton completed a one-on-one defensive interference with Tatum from beyond the three-point line. He then sent in a rainbow-like pass that set up Hield to score three points at the top of the arc.
In the end, Haliburton drove the ball to the halfway line and completed a wonderful pass, which assisted Nesmith to complete a counterattack and dunk to set the score at 114-105 and build a nine-point lead for the Pacers.
In just 50 seconds, Haliburton's 4 points and 2 assists led the team to a 9-0 attack wave, directly crushing the Celtics and helping the team successfully advance to the semifinals of the mid-season tournament, which can be called the representative game of his career.