Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner lead Pacers to win over Knicks

After a disappointing defeat in Madison Square Garden on Feb. 1, the Pacers took advantage of several Knicks injuries with a 125-111 win in New York on Saturday.

The Pacers improved to 30-24. The Knicks fell to 33-20.

Here are four observations.

Tyrese Haliburton posts double-double with highlight reel plays

Just before his injury on Jan. 8, Tyrese Haliburton had ended a nine-game streak of points-assists double-doubles. Since he got back on the floor while working through his left hamstring strain, he's had a harder time reaching what had become a standard for him thanks in large part to his minutes restriction. He had 21 points and 17 assists against the Trailblazers on Jan. 19 before missing the next five games and he posted 13 points and 10 assists against the Celtics in 22 minutes on Jan. 30, but had only posted double figures in assists twice since then and had one double-double.

But Haliburton's hamstring is steadily improving, his minutes are steadily increasing, and it's showing in his game. On Saturday night he posted 22 points and 12 assists. He had some inefficient shooting stretches, but finished 7 of 14 from the floor and 4 of 9 from 3, but he had several truly dazzling highlight reel moments.

Several of his assists were spectacular and many were of the no-look variety, but one stood out more than the rest. In the third quarter he found himself stuck without his dribble at the top of the key and no one else open and he didn't like the idea of taking a shot from there. But the lane was open so he whipped the ball off the backboard and got it back in the middle of the lane. A defender converged, so rather than going to the rim for a layup, Haliburton immediately whipped the ball out to Pascal Siakam for a 3-pointer, causing Siakam to laugh and center Myles Turner to put his hands on his head in disbelief.

Haliburton mentioned seeing Kobe Bryant pulling that move in Madison Square Garden in 2012, hitting Pau Gasol for a jumper after throwing it off the backboard. Haliburton also mentioned Anthony Edwards did it recently, though he dunked the ball rather than passing it.

"I see everybody doing it," Haliburton said on the Bally Sports broadcast. "Ant did it and then everybody's been doing it. I've been waiting for the right opportunity. The paint, there was nobody down there, so I was like, 'We're in New York, why not try it?"

Rick Carlisle was also impressed by the move.

"One characteristic that all great players have is resourcefulness and the ability in a split second to invent something special," Carilsle said. "He did just that. That's a play that created momentum for us. If for some reason that possession was unsuccessful it could have created a lot of momentum for the Knicks. The only word I can really say is it's just special. Special stuff."

Haliburton also hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, a step-back 3 that rattled around the rim and touched every inch of it before it went down. He jumped up to check himself into the game with 6 seconds left after he was on the bench.

"I watched (Stephen Curry) do that with Steve (Kerr)," Haliburton said. "He didn't even ask, he just went to the table. I said, 'Coach, I'm gonna start doing that.' He let me do that today. He said, 'Alright, if the situation calls for it.' And he let me rock."

Also important, he finished with 30 minutes, the most he's played since his injury, and posted a +11 plus-minus figure, and yet again played in all four quarters.

Myles Turner took advantages of the Knicks' injuries

The Pacers last game in Madison Square Garden on Feb. 2 was one of Myles Turner's worst of the season. He scored just five points on 2 of 6 shooting, grabbed four rebounds and committed five fouls while his counterpart Isaiah Hartenstein dominated the offensive glass, grabbing 19 rebounds including eight on offense and scoring 12 points.

But Hartenstein was out Saturday with a sore Achilles tendon and the Knicks were already missing forward Julius Randle and center Mitchell Robinson. So the Knicks had to start Taj Gibson and they didn't have much depth beyond him. Turner took advantage of the weakness in the middle and dominated.

He was a perfect 7 of 7 from the floor in the first half for 16 points, hitting a 3-pointer to start the game, but then mostly getting easy looks off screen and rolls in the paint and around the rim. He started the the second half with another 3-pointer. He only had one more field goal, but finished a perfect 9 of 9 for 23 points.

"We felt like we had an opportunity to go with the pick and roll last game," Haliburton said. "We exploited it a little bit but I didn't get to finish the game so we made that a point of emphasis going into tonight."

Turner also grabbed eight rebounds and helped the Pacers win the rebounding battle 41-32. The Knicks had 25 second-chance points in the last game between the two teams, but on Saturday had just four.

T.J. McConnell shined in the Garden

The last time the Pacers played in New York on Feb. 1, T.J. McConnell didn't get on the floor. He was coming off an illness that forced him to spend an extra night in his hotel in Boston, and the Pacers hadn't yet figured out a way to both handle Haliburton's minutes restriction and get time for McConnell.

Since then, however, the Pacers moved point guard Andrew Nembhard into the starting lineup as the shooting guard, a role he held for most of last season, and McConnell's role has been more clear. And so he's simply been doing what he does, attacking the rim with abandon, setting up teammates for easy buckets and hitting short jumpers from 8 feet and in.

He had an exceptionally productive evening in that regard on Saturday, scoring 16 points on 8 of 10 shooting, dishing out six assists and grabbing four rebounds and a steal.

"McConnell was tremendous," Carlisle said. "Just out of this world."

Doug McDermott's first game back is a short appearance

Veteran wing Doug McDermott wanted to join the Pacers as soon as humanly possible after he was acquired Thursday in what turned out to be a three-team trade with the 76ers and Spurs, so he got to New York with the intent to play immediately. He did, but of course it was clear that he was playing his first game with a new team.

The sharp-shooting McDermott took just one shot, airballed it and didn't come back after the second quarter. He showed some fight on the defensive end, but the Pacers were -1 in his time on the floor.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Knicks: Tyrese Haliburton leads Pacers over Knicks