Haliburton guides Pacers past Raptors 140

Release time：2024-05-21 12:55:56 Source：Global Gateway news portal

The Indiana Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton finished with a game-high 30 points, five assists, and five rebounds in the team's 140-123 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday evening.

Tyrese Haliburton (L) of Indiana Pacers makes a layup during the 2023-2024 NBA regular season match between Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers in Toronto, Canada, April 9, 2024. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

The 24-year-old reached the 30-point mark for the ninth time this season and the first time in over three months. He scored 31 points in a win against Milwaukee on Jan. 3.

Prior to suffering a hamstring injury on Jan. 6, the first-time All-Star was having an MVP-caliber season averaging a league-leading 12.5 assists, 23.6 points on 49.7 percent shooting from the field and 40.3 percent from three.

After being sidelined for ten games, Haliburton returned but has not looked the same. Prior to the game against Toronto, he averaged a modest 9.4 assists, 16.6 points on 44.4 percent shooting and 32.3 percent from beyond the arc in 33 games since returning from injury.

"The biggest key (to our team success) is Tyrese Haliburton," said Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle after the win. "He's a phenomenal offensive player and he's the guy that drives the pace of our game."

During the win against the Raptors, Carlisle also got contributions from his second unit, who combined for 62 points. Forward Obi Toppin led the way with 23 points, while guards T.J. McConnell and Ben Sheppard contributed with 17 and 11 points, respectively. Indiana leads the league in bench scoring with 46.6 points per game.

The Pacers also sit atop the league in scoring with 122.9 points per game and have scored 140 or more nine times. The team holds an 8-1 record when achieving such a feat, with their lone loss being a 150-145 defeat to Lakers two weeks prior.

With the win, Carlisle's team improved to 46-34 on the season and have won eight of their last 11 games. Since Feb 2, the team is 19-11 and are positioned to reach the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

Indiana sit in the No. 6 seed with the potential to finish as high as No. 3 and as low as No. 8.

"Every win is big. Nothing is settled yet and we got to keep ourselves ready and keep competing at the highest possible level," said Carlisle.

With two games remaining in the regular season, Pacers trail No. 3 Knicks by 1.5 games and No. 4 Magic and No. 5 Cavaliers by one game. To avoid the play-in tournament, Indiana has a one game advantage over No. 7 Sixers and 1.5 game margin over No. 8 Heat.

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