The Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers played another nail-biting, nerve-wracking basketball game last night. They fought tooth and nail, but in the end, the pacers grabbed the victory in a dramatic way.
The two 6th seeds in the Western and Eastern Conferences faced off at the Pacers’ home venue, Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The pacers took advantage of the familiar crowd support and opened up a 10-point lead in the first quarter. However, the Clippers started getting back into the rhythm, thanks to guard Paul George, and they leveled the score before the final quarter. Unfortunately, they fell short by just one point as Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton fired up in a clutch moment and stole the winning moment from the visiting team.
heading into the New Year with a third straight #PacersWin.🔥 pic.twitter.com/IJ7Y3cN2EL
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 31, 2022
How was Paul Geroge’s performance last night?
The 32-year-old Paul delivered a season-best performance, scoring 45 points with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Also, his teammate, two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard, contributed 24 points with 5 rebounds and 7 assists. With these two veterans leading from the front, they fought till the end, entertaining the fans and viewers. Tyrese Halliburton of the Pacers, on the other hand, had other plans.
How did Tyrese Haliburton deliver the winning point?
Just before the game ended, when the scores were level, Tyrese stepped into a duel with 6.8-foot George and earned a game-winning free throw. The whole fourth quarter was the Tyrese vs. George show. At one point, he scored 12 consecutive points with an off-the-dribble three-pointer, a driving layup, a turnaround jumper, and numerous free throws. The 22-year-old youngster scored 24 points with 7 rebounds and match best 10 assists.
Even though George and Leonard scored from all over the court, the Clippers couldn’t match the pace and agility of the Pacers’ all-around balanced performance. After the game, the Indiana Pacers extended their winning streak to three games, while the Los Angeles Clippers failed to clinch the Western Conference title.
What are the reactions from players and coaches?
A contest like this always entertains the viewers and fans. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle praised the youngster, saying, “Tyrese’s fourth quarter was monster. Eighteen in the fourth made just about every play you can imagine. Really just breathtaking stuff to watch.”
“He’s a basketball savant type guy,” Carlisle continued. “People like him, people like Doncic, people like Reggie Miller, they sense when their time is coming. He’s resourceful and he finds ways to help our team get the ball in the basket… It’s amazing to watch him continue to grow, grow, grow every single game.”
Until the fourth quarter’s Haliburton clutch moment, it was George reigning over the hardwood in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Leonar praised his teammate by stating, “Hell of a player.” George himself expresed his gratiude towards his fellow mates, “If teams want to do that, it’s an easy offense for us to make the right play and trust the pass, trust our teammates and they did that”
