NBA legend Magic Johnson says Tyrese Haliburton must score 20–25 points per game for the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With the Indiana Pacers now up 2–1 in the NBA Finals, Magic Johnson believes the key to finishing the job lies squarely with Tyrese Haliburton.
Indiana Pacers / Schedule
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up after Indiana’s Game 3 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Johnson broke down what the Pacers need to close out the series — and put the spotlight directly on their star point guard.
“OKC has more talent than Indiana at the end of the day,” Johnson said per IndyStar. “But the way they’re going to win is they have to play fast, (Haliburton) has to score more in this series. He has to get 20–25 points every single game in order for the Pacers to win because they follow his lead, right?”
Magic, a five-time NBA champion and one of the greatest point guards of all time, didn’t stop there. He explained that Haliburton’s ability to control the tempo with both scoring and passing is what unlocks the rest of the Pacers' offense.
“So him and (Pascal) Siakam have to get at least 20 points to put the Pacers in a situation that they can win the game,” Johnson added. “That unlocks all the other guys… When they both came out aggressive — Siakam had a big first quarter, Haliburton had a big second — that unlocked everybody else.”
Haliburton answered that call in Game 3, posting 22 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds, pushing the Pacers to a 111–102 win and a 2–1 series lead. But even with that near triple-double, Magic wants more.
“He has to set the tempo, not just with his pace and also his assists, but also his scoring,” Johnson said. “I had to do that against the Celtics… I must score against the Celtics, while I still had to get 15–20 assists, and this is important for him: He has to do the same thing.”
This season, Indiana is 20–1 when Haliburton records at least 20 points and 10 assists, showing just how closely their success is tied to his production.
Through the first three games of the Finals, Haliburton is averaging 17.7 points, 7.7 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per game.
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