Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers rebound to beat Sixers 132-126 for key In-Season Tournament win

PHILADELPHIA -- The Pacers rebounded from Sunday's loss to Philadelphia and beat the 76ers in the second game of the series, claiming a key 132-126 victory in In-Season Tournament Group Play that gives them the inside track in East Group A.

The Pacers improved to 7-4. The Sixers fell to 8-2. The Pacers are 2-0 in In-Season Tournament East Group A and the Sixers are 1-1.

Here are four observations.

Tyrese Haliburton sizzles from outside

Tyrese Haliburton's 25-point, 17-assist outburst on Sunday was overshadowed by Tyrese Maxey's 50-point explosion, but Haliburton seemed determined from the first quarter not to be overshadowed again.

Haliburton hit all four of his first-quarter 3-point attempts for 12 points, and just kept knocking down shots after that. He hit two more in the second quarter, entering the break with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-8 from 3 to go with six assists. He kept rolling in the second half with a dagger of a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, finishing with 33 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range to go with 15 assists.

"I was really feeling it tonight," Haliburton said. "I'm just trying to play the right way. We know there's higher stakes in this game. It's an In-Season Tournament. I've never played in a playoff game. I've got to take this very seriously because it's my first time really competing for a championship, or having a chance to. I take it very serious. We wanted to get our lick back, wanted to get that game back. I've never beaten Philly before, so it's an exciting win for me."

In two games in Philadelphia, Haliburton scored 58 points on 20 of 32 shooting including 10 of 18 from 3-point range, dished out 32 assists and posted zero turnovers. His 32 assists is the most in NBA history in a two-game stretch with zero turnovers.

"He's our guy," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "He's our guy. He's a great player. ... He's just an amazing player. He has an amazing vibe, and he battled our there. He battled defensively. He battled on the boards too. He's our leader on the floor. He's our leader off the floor. He understands that for us to grow as a team, opportunities in this environment to succeed are critical. He kept a really calm, smooth, steady disposition mentally the entire night. Didn't get too up or too down. That's how you gotta play. Especially in this building."

Pacers address issues on defense, boards

After Maxey scored 50 and Joel Embiid posted 37, the Pacers knew they had to be a lot better on defense on Tuesday. They also knew they had to be a lot better on the glass after losing the rebound battle 54-32 and allowing 23 offensive rebounds and 30 second-chance points, including 23 in the second half and 11 in the fourth quarter.

The Pacers didn't shut down Embiid and Maxey, but they defended with more force and made them work. Maxey finished with 27 points on 9-of-23 shooting, and Embiid had 39 points, making 11 of his 22 field goals and all 17 of his free throws. But that's much better than allowing 87 points to two players.

The change came about in part because of a minor adjustment the Pacers made defensively. They made schematic changes in the offseason to use less help defense, forcing themselves to guard their yard more, and they've been trying to guard more pick-and-roll plays 2-on-2. However, on Tuesday night after seeing Maxey go off for 50 points with so many easy ones coming at the rim, they brought a help defender to the nail just to make it a little bit more difficult and that clearly made a difference.

"For the most part we try to keep it 2-on-2," Pacers backup point guard T.J. McConnell said. "But Maxey on Sunday, he was just getting to the paint and getting to his floater, getting to the rim and obviously he was shooting the ball from 3 well, when he got it rolling there was no stopping him. Having that nail presence there to slow him down I feel like helped a little bit."

And on the glass, the Pacers won 41-38 and had 10 offensive rebounds to the SIxers' five. The second-chance points battle was even (eight each), which goes as a win in the Pacers' book.

"The rebounding was a preposterous difference from the first game," Carlisle said. "Tonight, they only had five offensive rebounds. Our guys made a great adjustment there, were very persistent. Just pursued."

Obi Toppin posts new season high

The Pacers have slowly figured out exactly how they can use Obi Toppin as an offensive weapon and how they can limit his exposure on defense. The Pacers' trip to Philadelphia has been a clear positive step in that direction.

After scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting on Sunday night, Toppin was the Pacers' second-leading scorer on Tuesday with a season-high 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting, giving the Pacers a running mate for Haliburton on a night when the rest of them seemed to be struggling to make shots. Haliburton and Toppin were a combined 23 of 33 from the floor (69.7%). The rest of the team was 25 of 60. (41.7%)

Toppin also grabbed six rebounds, dished out an assist with no turnover and blocked a shot.

Most of Toppin's shot came in the paint, but he showed that he's not just a threat to dunk the ball in transition. He scored on cuts and baseline drives with a variety of finishing styles, showing outstanding touch around the rim.

"He had good feel for the game from the beginning," Carlisle said. "His running ability is a big part of who we are right now. It just seemed like, in the second half when we would be reeling a little bit, somehow he'd find a way. There was a lob pass for a dunk. There was one or two cuts under the basket for difficult finishes. One time there was a nifty difficult finish. He just kept coming. He just kept coming."

Pacers have to be creative at center

Daniel Theis missed Tuesday night's game for personal reasons. That wouldn't usually be an issue, as Theis had played 8 minutes all season, but dealing with Joel Embiid can be a war of attrition, and it was on Tuesday.

Starter Myles Turner picked up two fouls in the first 4:15 and had to come out. Jalen Smith picked up two early fouls and came out. Isaiah Jackson picked up four first-half fouls and Smith came back in, but he took an elbow in the head from Marcus Morris Jr. and was knocked out of the game. He was taken to a hospital for tests and ruled out the rest of the way. Turner picked up another foul in the second quarter and then another early in the third.

So the Pacers had to trust Jackson for more minutes than they would have expected, as he played 17:23, carrying four fouls for much of that. They also used lineups with no true center, with Toppin taking on the position for second- and third-quarter minutes while the 6-6 Aaron Nesmith actually had to take on Embiid. . That gave Embiid an advantage, but they made him work for his points and it wasn't as bad on the glass as it was on Sunday.

Jackson grabbed nine rebounds in his minutes. Nesmith fought through an experience Carlisle called similar to a WWE fight, and Turner scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter after playing just 7 minutes and 45 seconds in the first three quarters.

"Myles did everything down the stretch," Carlisle said. "He took a charge, he had one or two blocks. He rebounded. He finished. He hit a really important 3-pointer that gave us a cushion. He just kept playing."

Carlisle said after the game that he had no update on Smith's status. He also wouldn't say anything about Theis' absence other than to say the reasons were personal.

Pacers stats vs. Sixers

Indiana 132, Philadelphia 126

INDIANA (132): Mathurin 3-8 0-0 8, Toppin 12-15 2-4 27, Turner 5-11 6-8 17, B.Brown 5-11 4-4 14, Haliburton 11-18 4-5 33, Jackson 1-4 5-8 7, J.Smith 2-2 0-1 5, Nembhard 1-3 0-0 2, Nesmith 2-8 1-2 6, Hield 1-5 0-0 2, McConnell 5-8 1-1 11. Totals 48-93 23-33 132.

PHILADELPHIA (126): Covington 1-3 0-0 2, Harris 11-17 0-1 22, Embiid 11-22 17-17 39, Maxey 9-23 7-7 27, Melton 8-13 10-10 30, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Morris Sr. 1-4 0-0 2, Reed 1-1 0-0 2, Korkmaz 0-0 0-0 0, House Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Beverley 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 43-86 34-35 126.

IND 36 27 32 37 — 132

PHI 30 24 40 32 — 126

3-Point Goals—Indiana 13-37 (Haliburton 7-12, Mathurin 2-4, J.Smith 1-1, Toppin 1-3, Turner 1-4, Nesmith 1-5, Nembhard 0-1, B.Brown 0-2, McConnell 0-2, Hield 0-3), Philadelphia 6-22 (Melton 4-6, Maxey 2-5, Harris 0-1, Beverley 0-2, Covington 0-2, Morris Sr. 0-2, Embiid 0-4). Fouled Out_Indiana 1 (Turner), Philadelphia None. Rebounds_Indiana 41 (Jackson 9), Philadelphia 38 (Embiid 12). Assists_Indiana 32 (Haliburton 15), Philadelphia 22 (Embiid 6). Total Fouls_Indiana 28, Philadelphia 26. A_19,774 (20,478)

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Sixers: Tyrese Haliburton scores 33 to lead Pacers to win