Pacers clinch knockout round berth with high-scoring effort
The in-season tournament game between the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks had everything. Except defense.
Tyrese Haliburton had 37 points and 16 assists as the Pacers won a shootout over the Hawks, 157-152. He scored 26 points and made seven three-pointers in the third quarter alone.
It's the highest-scoring regulation NBA game in over four years, since the Houston Rockets beat the Washington Wizards 159-158 on Oct. 30, 2019.
13 different players scored in double figures Tuesday night, with Trae Young leading Atlanta with 38 points on 14-for-19 shooting and eight assists.
Defenders may have been confused by playing on the special tournament court, which was light blue in honor of the Hawks' 1968 team, but not a color that the team regularly wears.
The combination of bizarrely-colored courts and alternate uniforms made it difficult for fans to tell what was going on, and perimeter players may have felt the same way.
The win moved Indiana to 3-0 in East Group A, with previous victories over the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers giving them the tiebreaker over all potential three-win teams.
They'll move on into a spot in the eight-team knockout round. Indiana also has an excellent chance to host one of the quarterfinals, since their final Group A comes against the lowly Detroit Pistons.
Indiana is now scoring the most points in the league while also giving up the most points in the league. They say defense wins championships, but with Haliburton and Buddy Hield combining to shoot 15-for-21 from three-point range, maybe offense wins in-season tournaments.
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