Tyrese Haliburton posts triple-double to help Pacers stun Celtics, earn berth in IST semis

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers stunned the Celtics 122-112 win Monday night in the first In-Season Tournament conference quarterfinal at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, advancing to the semifinals on Thursday in Las Vegas.

The Pacers are 5-0 in In-Season Tournament games and improved to 11-8. The Eastern Conference leading Celtics fell to 15-5.

Here are four observations.

Tyrese Haliburton posts first triple-double

Tyrese Haliburton returned to action after missing Saturday night's game against Miami with an upper respiratory infection and he did seem to be suffering the effects, but that didn't stop him from putting up a show-stopping performance in a nationally televised game, the first he's ever played on TNT.

Haliburton scored just seven points in the first half on 3 of 8 shooting, but hit a pair of 3-pointers and that was enough to get him confidence. In the third quarter, he started attacking right out of the gate, hitting center Myles Turner for a no-look pass for a dunk and then looking to find more of his own shots. He had 12 points in the period and also had 10 rebounds and seven assists through three quarters, putting him well on his way to his first career triple double. He picked that up midway through the fourth quarter, but he still had more to give. With the game tied at 105 with 1:33 to go, Haliburton hit a step-back 3-pointer and drew a foul which he converted for a four-point play to give the Pacers a 109-105 lead they never relinquished. Buddy Hield followed with a 3-pointer and Aaron Nesmith threw down a dunk to effectively put the game away.

Haliburton finished with 26 points on 10 of 18 shooting, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. He said after the game that he could barely move when he woke up Saturday and needed an inhaler, but found a way to grit through it.

"He's really a one-of-a-kind player that I've coached," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "His skill level. His connectiveness to his teammates, his leadership, his ability to both give teammates confidence and deliver the ball on-time and on-target as well as score in the 30s or 40s if needed to win a game. Exceedingly special player."

Pacers small-ball lineups work

When the season started the Pacers had too many centers to find minutes for all of them. However on Monday with the Celtics playing without starter Kristaps Porzingis, the Pacers opted to play just one center and the plan worked.

The Pacers didn't have Jalen Smith available -- he's still out with a knee bruise and left heel contusion -- and they didn't bring Isaiah Jackson in when Myles Turner went to the bench. Instead, they moved starting power forward Obi Toppin to the 5 and put a lineup of wings around him to force the Celtics to run around with them on the perimeter and to keep Boston from having any advantageous matchups on the other end. The move helped them on the defensive end, especially when it came to defending the 3-ball, and it made them a tough cover on the offensive end as well. It was much of the reason why the Pacers hit 19 3s to the Celtics 12 after Boston had a huge shooting advantage in the first game -- a 155-104 Celtics win. Jayson Tatum scored 32 points and Jaylen Brown had 30, but they took a combined 49 shots and were a combined 4 of 15 from 3-point range as the Celtics finished with a modest 1.04 points per possession.

"We still have work

They did get a huge performance out of Turner as well, who posted 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Aaron Nesmith takes the matchup personal

The In-Season Tournament already brought more energy to the building for Monday's first quarterfinal, but Aaron Nesmith brought plenty of juice too it without the additional stakes. The Celtics drafted Nesmith and traded him after two seasons when he didn't get to play much, so he's unabashed about using matchups against Boston to prove himself.

On Monday night he fought the Celtics on both ends, taking on matchups against stars Jayson Tatum and Jayson Brown and making them work for their buckets, getting a critical block on a Tatum drive at one point. He also attacked off the bounce and scored 14 points in a ferocious effort, throwing down a dunk with 44 seconds to go that put the Pacers up by nine and served as a dagger.

"That's just who Aaron Nesmith is," Turner said. "He's shown that time and time again."

The Pacers matched the Celtics' defense

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said in his pre-game press conference that he didn't want the Celtics to play to the Pacers' pace, but to be able dictate it themselves. He'd much rather play in the 90s than the 130s, he said.

The first half was very much played at Boston's pace as the Celtics took a 55-48 lead into the locker room, holding the Pacers under 30 points in each of the first two quarters. Boston held the most explosive and efficient offense in the league under 1.00 points per possession, but the Pacers brought just as much defensive intensity and kept them from blowing the game open like they did the first time when Boston won by 51 points on Nov. 1.

The Pacers held the Celtics 46.2% shooting from the floor in the first half, and Boston made just 6 of 23 3-pointers in the first half after the Celtics made 20 3-pointers in the first matchup. Celtics All-NBA wing Jayson Tatum scored 30 points on 9 of 15 shooting in the first game, but had just 12 points on 13 shots in the first half Monday.

In the third quarter, the Pacers held the Celtics to just 9 of 22 shooting, including 3 of 10 from 3-point range, outscoring them 37-23 to take control of the game. They allowed Boston just 0.89 points per possession in the period. Both teams went shot-for-shot in the fourth, but the advantage the Pacers built with their defense held up. Boston finished 12 of 41 from 3-point range and with 1.04 points per possession for the game, well south of their 1.17 average.

"A lot of time and effort went into this game plan," Carlisle said. "(Assistant coach) Mike Weinar was the point man for this scout. He's one of the best I've ever seen at breaking a team down. He and Jim (Boylen) and Jenny (Boucek) really talked about what our defensive strategy was going to be. It's one of the most difficult teams you can ever play because of their ability to rise up like they did the first game against us and knock in 3 point shots in your face. They also drive the ball and they were doing more cutting tonight. Mike really helped us put together a solid plan to make it as difficult as possible. You're not going to stop a team like this, but he put a lot of work into it."

Pacers vs. Celtics stats

Indiana 122, Boston 112

BOSTON (112): J.Brown 14-23 0-1 30, Tatum 13-26 4-7 32, Horford 1-3 0-0 2, Holiday 3-9 2-2 9, White 7-16 2-2 18, Banton 0-1 0-0 0, Hauser 5-9 0-0 15, Kornet 3-5 0-0 6, Pritchard 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 46-97 8-12 112.

INDIANA (122): Hield 7-11 3-4 21, Toppin 4-8 2-2 12, Turner 7-16 1-1 17, B.Brown 3-10 6-7 13, Haliburton 10-18 1-1 26, Mathurin 5-14 2-2 16, Nembhard 0-2 1-2 1, Nesmith 6-10 1-2 14, McConnell 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 43-94 17-21 122.

BOS 24 31 23 34 — 112

IND 22 26 37 37 — 122

3-Point Goals—Boston 12-41 (Hauser 5-7, J.Brown 2-7, Tatum 2-8, White 2-9, Holiday 1-5, Horford 0-1, Pritchard 0-4), Indiana 19-40 (Haliburton 5-11, Hield 4-6, Mathurin 4-7, Toppin 2-4, Turner 2-6, B.Brown 1-3, Nesmith 1-3). Fouled Out_Boston 1 (J.Brown), Indiana None. Rebounds_Boston 56 (Tatum 12), Indiana 41 (Haliburton, Turner 10). Assists_Boston 27 (White 8), Indiana 28 (Haliburton 13). Total Fouls_Boston 19, Indiana 15. A_16,693 (20,000)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Celtics: Tyrese Haliburton posts first triple-double