The Indiana Pacers, fueled by Tyrese Haliburton’s first career triple-double, on Monday beat the Boston Celtics 122-112 to reach the semi-finals of the NBA’s new in-season tournament.
The New Orleans Pelicans also booked their spot in Thursday’s semi-finals in Las Vegas, shaking off a slow start to beat the Sacramento Kings 127-117.
In Indianapolis, Haliburton scored 26 points with 10 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Pacers put together a 9-0 scoring run with less than two minutes remaining to take control of a tightly contested battle.
Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA Today
The Pacers, ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference regular-season standings, knocked out the East-leading Celtics and are to face either the Milwaukee Bucks or the New York Knicks in the semi-finals.
The Bucks were yesterday to host the Knicks in the quarter-finals, and Haliburton said the Pacers would be ready for either one.
“We’re a young, hungry group and we want to win every night,” Haliburton said. “So we’re excited to be there, but we’re not complacent being there. We want to win.”
Buddy Hield added 21 points for the Pacers, who had seven players score in the double figures to the delight of the 16,000-plus crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“The atmosphere is crazy,” Haliburton said of the playoff-type intensity in the arena, which was just what the NBA was looking for when it launched the in-season tournament hoping it would lend excitement to the early stages of a long season.
“I love this,” Haliburton said.
Jayson Tatum scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown added 30 points and nine rebounds for Boston, who dominated inside in the first half, but just could not keep the prolific Pacers offense in check in the second.
Boston out-scored Indiana 32-14 in the paint and out-rebounded them 34-19 in the first half, leading 55-48 at the break.
The Pacers turned the tables in the second half. Haliburton, held to seven points in the first half, scored eight in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said 18 turnovers — six of them in the third quarter when the Pacers briefly pushed their lead to 11 — doomed the Celtics.
“When you turn the ball over, you just let them get out in transition,” he said.
Even so, a game that featured 16 lead changes was all tied up at 105-105 with 1 minute, 33 seconds to play when Indiana delivered the final blow.
Haliburton drew a foul on a step-back three-pointer and converted the free throw to give the Pacers the lead for good.
Hield drilled a three-pointer and Aaron Nesmith threw down a dunk before the Celtics could respond and the Pacers held on.
In Sacramento, the Kings led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter, but the Pelicans clawed back to lead 69-61 at halftime and never trailed in the second half as they handed the Kings their first defeat of the tournament.
Pels star Zion Williamson had a relatively quiet night with 10 points, but Brandon Ingram scored 30 and Herbert Jones added 23 as six New Orleans players scored in the double figures.
De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 30 points. Domantas Sabonis notched a triple-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for Sacramento, who had won all four of their group stage games.
The Pelicans are to play the winner of the quarter-final between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.
The title game is on Saturday in Las Vegas, where the finalists are to compete for the first NBA Cup and the US$500,000 in prize money per player for the winning team.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS