Tyrese Haliburton helps Team USA run past Puerto Rico

The Pacers star guard was able to get his squad running in the fast lane after a slow start en route to a 117-74 rout.

Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Team USA put forth a dominant second-half effort to pound Puerto Rick, 117-74 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Monday night. After sputtering a bit at both ends of the floor against a veteran Puerto Rico squad, Team USA and Haliburton, found their game and flourished in the second half.

Haliburton entered the game with just over two minutes left in the first quarter, picking up a quick pair of assists while focusing on pushing the pace and facilitating. Hali went on to play about the first five minutes of the second quarter, looking ahead and looking for teammates. In fact, he didn’t seem interested in looking for his own shot despite a couple of early opportunities to do so. Regardless, that’s his role as the reserve point guard and with others like Austin Reaves making shots, Hali has to get the rock to his shooters and finishers.

After a clunky first half which saw the USA squad up just 50-43 at the break, Haliburton played a big role in tearing the game open in the second half, as Team USA outscored Puerto Rico, 67-31 over the final 20 minutes of the game. The half-court offense was rarely pretty for the home team, but when they were able to get out in transition, magic happened.

Speaking of magic, Haliburton was in his element once he returned to the game in the third quarter, looking like Magic Johnson as he pushed the pace and found running teammates for easy buckets while flashing his trademark smile. Cam Johnson finished with 15 points, many off of helpers from Haliburton. Tyrese finished the game with 12 assists and only one turnover, along with seven points.

But the way he orchestrated the reserve unit in the second half led to more minutes with a variety of different lineups. Haliburton played 21 minutes overall and with the current lineups, he is a perfect fit with the reserve group which includes Austin Reaves, Cam Johnson, Bobby Portis and Paolo Banchero. While the starting unit with Jaren Jackson Jr. in the middle is better suited for half courts sets (although not much better, they are gonna need to run, as well), the second group needs to avoid long, half court possessions whenever possible.

By the second half, everyone looked comfortable getting out in transition, knowing Tyrese would find them if at all possible. A couple of times, the camera missed a push-ahead pass from Haliburton and suddenly flashed Johnson shooting the ball. Gotta pay attention.

As for defense, the whole second unit struggled on D against the experienced Puerto Rican squad in the first half. TH was hung up navigating screens a few times, but did draw an offensive foul after taking a hit on a screen from Ismael Romero. However, JJJ quickly helped shore up the D when he and Ingram subbed in with Hali, Reeves and Cam Johnson.

In the second half, the defense was much more aggressive overall and once the score started snowballing in favor of Team USA, things were much easier on both ends of the floor.

This turned into a perfect first game for Haliburton considering an unsettled role off the bench. Depending on matchups and how games play out, Steve Kerr showed he will get while the getting’s good and keep guys running if they earn the time. Jalen Brunson started at point guard and finished a +23 for the game, but Haliburton played one minute less and was +24 making for a dynamic two-headed monster running the show for Team USA. They even played a few minutes together, which as Kerr has mentioned, is not a problem since they both share the ball so well.

This team will struggle as the competition ramps up, particularly if they can’t dictate the pace. But for Haliburton, all of these intense, high-level reps will be invaluable down the road.

Team USA now flies to Malaga, Spain where they will play Slovenia on Saturday (Aug. 12 at 3:30 p.m. ET) and Spain on Sunday (Aug. 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET). The back-to-back will be televised Saturday on FS1 and Sunday on big FOX.

Check out the highlights from the game: