Tyrese Haliburton had 16 assists Friday night. At the game’s biggest moment, he called his own number.
Indiana’s All-Star guard took an inbounds pass in the backcourt and hit a floater while being fouled to give the Pacers a 121-118 victory in Game 3 of their first-round series. Haliburton finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists, the fourth playoff triple-double in Pacers history.
He and the Pacers had to overcome a lot of clutch shots from Khris Middleton, whose three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation sent the game to OT.
Indiana thought it could relax after Aaron Nesmith sank a three-pointer from the corner to give them a three-point lead.
But Middleton hit perhaps the most ridiculous and most clutch of all his clutch shots Friday, banking in a three while Myles Turner frantically flew at his shot.
On the game’s final play, Middleton did get up a desperation three, but it misfired. The Pacers escaped in a game where they blew a huge lead. They were up 17 points after the first quarter, and still led by 16 points early in the third quarter. But Middleton’s first buzzer-beater of the game got Milwaukee within seven points by the end of the third, and two three-pointers by Damian Lillard gave the Bucks a lead in the fourth.
In overtime, Indiana had a stretch where they kept possession for a minute and 42 seconds, more than a third of the entire overtime period. That was thanks to Andrew Nembhard, who grabbed four offensive rebounds and drew a foul in that stretch. Indiana ultimately didn’t score, but Nembhard was karmically rewarded for his hustle when he tied the game with a jumper seconds later.
Overall, the Pacers had 19 offensive rebounds in the game. For a team that’s known for its scoring and not its toughness, it was an impressive win. It let the Pacers hold on long enough for Middleton to finally miss a big shot.