Pacers will advance in In-Season Tournament after wild win in Atlanta

The Pacers rallied back from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the Hawks and clinch the top spot in the East's Group A.

Photo: @Pacers

Gimme a minute. Still trying to catch my breath.

The Pacers just beat the Hawks 157-152 in what seemed like three separate games played within 48 minutes. There were almost enough points for two NBA games.

But this ain’t the 90’s, and the 252.5 over/under never had a chance to stay under. The numbers from this game are absurd, making it hard to pick the craziest numbers of them all.

I think a 152-152 tie score with just over a minute left qualifies. This after both teams combined for 74 first quarter points and then made that look boring with 85 second quarter points.

The Hawks scored 46 points in the second quarter, 86 in the first half!

The Pacers scored 44 points in the third quarter and 84 in the second half!

So wild was this game, that Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 third quarter points (franchise record for a quarter), made 7 of 8 three-pointers and was still able to dish out four assists and wasn’t necessarily the player of the game for the Pacers. While he finished the game with 37 points and 16 assists, Haliburton didn’t score in the fourth quarter and had three rough turnovers that let Atlanta get back and tie the game.

Oh, but that third-quarter heater was legendary. The deep threes has No. 0 reviving memories of No. 31 right down to following up a deep 3-ball by skipping back down the court.

Fortunately, Hali’s trusted running mate, Buddy Hield was there to close up shop, making three big threes down the stretch and score 13 of his 24 points at winning time. In his walk-off interview, Haliburton credited Buddy for winning the game for them.

Lineup change

Not only did Buddy show up big at closing time, but he started the game hot as well with a three pointer to get the madness started. Oh, yeah, Buddy was literally starting after Rick Carlisle shook up his playing rotation with Buddy and Aaron Nesmith swapping in for Bennedict Mathurin and Obi Toppin. After the first eight minutes, the move worked out perfect, but then Atlanta closed the rest of the first quarter and second half on fire.

Carlisle apparently saw more than he could take from the inconsistent first unit and made a change to a five-man group that went into the game with a +36 net rating.

Andrew Nembhard was still out with a sore back and the Hawks worked to find TJ McConnell for mismatches. Rookie Ben Sheppard played a few minutes in the second quarter but nothing was working to slow down the Hawks.

In the second half, Carlisle tightened the rotation to nine players which was easy since he rode Haliburton’s hot hand for the whole third quarter. A change at backup big proved perfect, as Isaiah Jackson was active and disruptive with five rebounds and four blocks in 12 minutes. In fact, Carlisle appreciated the effort so much, he left IJax in to finish the game.

Last but not least, Mathurin and Toppin adjusted quite nicely to their role off the bench. Mathurin was in a more comfortable spot, attacking the bucket with the reserve unit. Benn finished with 19 points on 7 of 10 shots, including two 3-ball. Nice efficient night and just what the Pacers needed to solidify that second-half run Haliburton started. Toppin was also active and actually played more minutes (33 min) than usual and finished with 21 points. Like IJax, he was making a positive impact so Carlisle stuck with him.

What’s next?

The Pacers locked up to top spot in East’s Group A and will advance to the knockout round of the In-Season Tournament with the five other group winners and two wild card teams.

The Pacers return to the Fieldhouse to play Toronto on Wednesday night and then their last In-Season pool game against Detroit on Friday.