The Indiana Pacers are now just one win away from going to the NBA Finals after a gritty Game 4 win over the New York Knicks at home. Even after the Knicks came back and stole Game 3 in the final minutes, Indiana rebounded with a very impressive 130-121 win to take a 3-1 series lead.
Sometimes in the playoffs, the role players deserve plenty of credit for helping their team win. In this game, it was the stars that showed out for the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton put together an all-time playoff masterpiece, but he didn't want to talk about his stats after the game.
"We making up stats at some point to make me look better… I just want to impact winning."
Tyrese Haliburton on becoming the 1st player to ever record 30+ points, 15+ assists, 10+ rebounds, and 0 turnovers in a playoff game 🗣️
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/mjQzNR5AjA
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 28, 2025
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“We making up stats at some point to make me look better,” Haliburton said. “I think I'm just trying to play the right way. I just want to impact winning. I've told you guys that for the last two years. After my third year, getting the big contract and now having to step into a new role, for me it was about how can I impact winning.”
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Haliburton's stats may seem made up when you check the stat sheet, but they are indeed real. He finished the game with 31 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists and four steals while not committing a single turnover, becoming the first player in NBA playoff history to do so. He was aggressive right from the jump but didn't really sacrifice efficiency, shooting 11-for-23 from the floor and 5-for-12 from 3-point range.
The Pacers badly needed a big game from Haliburton to combat a hot Knicks offense, and they got just that. Pascal Siakam also chipped in with 30 points of his own as the two Indiana stars dominated on the offensive end from start to finish.
Now, the Pacers may just need one more big game from their star point guard to clinch a spot in the NBA Finals that nobody will have seen coming. While things are looking bleak for the Knicks at the moment, they have two of the final three games in the series at home, so the Pacers need to be on high alert coming into Game 5 and possibly beyond.