INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton hasn’t just rediscovered his old self.
He found a historical form.
The Pacers star bounced back from his earlier struggles with another masterclass to lead Indiana to a 111-106 victory in Game 3 of the second round against the Knicks on Friday night.
Haliburton scored 35 points on 14-of-26 shooting and 6-of-14 from deep to lead the Pacers to victory after trailing 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Ta.
“Just going downhill, being aggressive and being who I am,” Haliburton said, adding that it was both a personal epiphany and a fine-tuning for the team.
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Haliburton became the fifth player in league history to record 30 points and six threes in consecutive playoff games.
He joins Stephen Curry (seven), Donovan Mitchell (two), James Harden and Damian Lillard in August.
“He adapts quickly,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “He had to make some pretty significant adjustments in both series, making his first appearance in the playoffs. Sometimes he can score, but he has to get other guys involved. Sometimes it’s the other way around. We know we need him to score.
“So he got hit (on Friday). I hope he’s okay until Sunday. I think it’s hard to keep him out of the game. But his aggressiveness is very important in this game. And look, his aggressiveness is going to be important in every game in this series, whether he’s scoring a lot of points or not.
Haliburton also had a game-best seven assists, including four assists.
He found Andrew Nembhardt as the crucial No. 3 with just seconds left.
“He’s grown up. He’s very aggressive and opens things up for everyone. But he’s been doing this all year. So it’s not surprising for us. ” Nembhard said. “Guys have good games and bad games, so if he goes out there and has a bad game, we’re not too worried.”
Haliburton said he twisted his ankle during a steal and layup.
He was already struggling with back problems and missed the start of the season with a hamstring strain.
“It was my ankle. I twisted my ankle on the steal on the fourth layup. I landed on my coccyx on that and-one, so now it’s just my whole body. It hurts,” Halliburton said. Said. “But they got the players hurt too. You have to understand that everyone is hurting now.
“Thank God I got a day in between. I’m still young so I’m going to recover and be ready to go on Sunday.”
