We may look back on Monday—the night of the first two knockout games of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament—as a flash in the pan. Maybe a decade from now the regular season is 60 games long and in-season tournament gear is a collector’s item on eBay. On Monday though, during the knockout quarterfinal between the Pacers and Celtics, a thrilling, high-octane and high-scoring affair, the in-season tournament felt like one of the greatest ideas in recent sports history.
And it was almost entirely because of Tyrese Haliburton.
The Pacers’ All-Star guard was sublime in his first taste of postseason-esque basketball, recording his first career triple double with 26 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. He spearheaded a raucous second-half comeback, as Indy picked up the pace and outgunned the Celtics by 17 over the final 24 minutes for a 122–112 win.
The comeback crescendoed with just over 90 seconds to go, when, with the score tied at 105, Haliburton was isolated against Al Horford, only to inexplicably use a screen that drew Jaylen Brown on a switch. Deep behind the three-point line at the top of the arc, looking lost in the sea of blue on the Pacers’ tournament court, Haliburton pulled up for a three anyway, sinking the shot and drawing a foul, whipping the crowd and anyone watching on their couch into a frenzy.
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It was a superstar shot from a superstar in the making. Haliburton is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 25 points and 11 assists a night this season. He’s scoring 26.9 points a game while dropping 11.9 assists, and doing so while shooting 52.1% from the field and 44.7% from three. Stylistically, nobody in the league plays like the Pacers, who at times look more like an Air Raid offense from college football than an NBA team. Indiana turns games into a literal sprint as if they used an unlimited turbo cheat code right before the tip. Haliburton is the head of the snake, and he delights with his speed, his increasingly gutsy stepback jumpers and his unorthodox shooting stroke, which is less of a launch and more of a slingshot.
On Monday, Haliburton willed his team to a win against a Celtics squad largely considered to be the title favorites. No, this game wasn’t as important as it would be in May. But the competitive spirit for the knockout stage was palpable. Considering it was Haliburton’s first game ever on TNT, it was the perfect circumstance for him to showcase his talent to a much wider audience than normal.
It’s refreshing how badly Haliburton wants to win the tournament. After a game in November, Haliburton made clear how desperate he is to win anything in front of him.
“All the individual success is cool, and I’ve accomplished a lot individually already. I’ve been an All-Star, which is the main goal of mine when I came into the NBA,” Haliburton said. “But individual success is nothing at this point. I just want to win. I’m tired of being a loser. I’ve got to do a better job of finding ways to win.”
Obviously, it wasn’t the NBA Finals on Monday, but nobody is calling Haliburton a loser after that game. If anything, he won over fans who don’t normally get to experience his unique style of play, let alone in a game with stakes attached to them. And isn’t that ultimately the point of what the in-season tournament is about? Finding ways for fans to connect to regular season games they may otherwise have no interest in? The league created a stage not only to pique curiosity, but for players to snatch attention they may otherwise never get.
I’m certain there were casual fans who tuned in last night because the Celtics are a household name, an iconic franchise with nationally popular players. And those people were treated to a show by Haliburton, in a game with legitimate intensity and an exciting atmosphere.
It may be too soon to call the in-season tournament a definitive success. We won’t know if it has staying power unless it, uh, stays for a while. But even if it only served the purpose of allowing Haliburton, one of the game’s burgeoning, singular stars, to play in a game unlike any other in his career and show what makes him special, then the tournament has already given us something worth remembering.
