NBA Starting 5, Dec. 5: Haliburton gets iconic as Pacers & Pelicans advance
The Pacers and Pelicans are headed to Vegas.
Which two teams will join them in the Semifinals of the In-Season Tournament?
We find out tonight.
THE LINEUP
- Must-see from Monday night
- Haliburton, Pacers race past Celtics
- ⚜️ Pelicans edge Kings to advance
- Preview: Final 2 Tix to Vegas
- NBA Cup: Behind the design
Knicks at Bucks, 7:30 ET, TNT
Suns at Lakers, 10 ET, TNT
In-Season Tournament Hub
Monday’s Top 10 Plays
1. TUESDAY MORNING MUST-SEE
Tyrese Haliburton capped off a masterpiece — one of the signature performances of his young career — with an instantly iconic, deeply clutch, electrify-the-entire-state 4-point play.
Wanna recapture the moment? Start here.
- Haliburton had the ball. Score tied 105. Under 2 minutes left. A spot in the In-Season Tournament semifinals or elimination on the line
- Quick screen. Boston switches. Haliburton pulls up. As the 3 drops in, you hear the whistle. Watch the shot
- The already electric Indy crowd explodes. The Pacers bench loses its mind. So does Haliburton’s dad. Watch (and listen) from INSIDE the arena
- Haliburton hits the free throw. Gives the Pacers a two-possession lead as they close out the Celtics to advance
- After the game, Haliburton celebrated the win with his parents and discussed his relationship with the Indy crowd that showered him with “M-V-P” chants
The Knockout energy is different.
- The building pulsed as Aaron Nesmith put the exclamation point on the night with a slam in the final minute
- And it wasn’t just the fans. Watch the Pacers’ bench empty to celebrate as they brought the energy and reactions all night
- Myles Turner on the mic summed it up: “That Playoff ball baby!”
- Go inside the Pacers’ locker room postgame: “We’re going to Vegas!”
- Manu Ginobili took notice: ‘Tyresssssse! Baaaaaller!’
2. PACERS RACE PAST CELTICS TO REACH SEMIS
️ Pacers 122, Celtics 112
Recap | IND 11-8, BOS 15-5
Pretty good timing for Haliburton, the NBA’s leader in assists, to have one of the best games of his life.
First career triple-double. First team headed to Vegas.
- Haliburton does it all: Haliburton finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists to lead the Pacers over the East-leading Celtics
- Haliburton: “The expectation is to win. We’re coming out here with a young hungry group and we want to win every night. We’re excited to be there, but we’re not just complacent being there. We want to win.”
Game of runs: The game was played within five points for much of the first half before the teams started trading haymakers in the form of scoring runs.
- 0:40 2nd Q, BOS 12-0: The Celtics turned a three-point deficit into a nine-point lead after this deep 3 by Jayson Tatum in the final minute of the half
- 1:15 3rd Q, IND 39-19: The Pacers bounced back, outscoring the Celitcs by 20 to take an 11-point lead, including this triple by Buddy Hield
- 4:19 4th Q, BOS 25-13: The Celitcs responded, outscoring the Pacers by 12 over the next eight minutes. Jaylen Brown tied the game with a second-chance 3, and capped the run with a one-point lead off a Tatum free-throw
- 0:00 4th, IND 24-13: Feeding off their home crowd, the Pacers closed the game on a 24-13 run, highlighted by Haliburton’s four-point play that broke a 105-105 tie with 93 seconds left. Watch the final 1:55 uncut
Indiana is pacing ahead of the NBA record for points per game, 128.4 a night. When they needed it most, the Pacers’ league-best offense struck again
- Second-half-surge: After scoring just 48 points at the half, the Pacers put up 74 in the second half, giving them 12 70+ point halves already this season, the most ever through a team’s first 19 games
- Joining elite company: Since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78, Haliburton joins Nikola Jokic (2018) and Grant Hill (1996) as the only players to record 25+ PTS, 10+ REB, 10+ AST, and zero turnovers in a game at 23 or younger
3. PELICANS KNOCK OFF KINGS TO ADVANCE
⚜️ Pelicans 127, Kings 117
Recap | NOP 12-10, SAC 11-8
A completely wild opening quarter sparked the Pelicans’ run to the semifinals.
- Kings came out on fire. They put up 32 points in the game’s first 7:33. They shot 12-14 on FGs, 6-8 on 3s and assisted on 10 of their 12 buckets, including this alley-oop to Malik Monk to ignite the crowd. They led by 15
- Pelicans respond: Sparked by the bench trio of Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado (with his signature steal on Fox) and Naji Marshall, New Orleans closed the quarter on a 17-4 run, capped by a Herb Jones putback at the buzzer off a missed FT
The Pelicans absorbed the Kings’ opening punch and delivered a solid counter.
- And they kept it going. New Orleans dominated the second quarter, built a 13-point lead of their own and eventually carried an eight-point edge into the half.
- The Kings tried to make a run. But every time the Pelicans had an answer, winning the final two quarters by a single point for the 10-point win
- NOLA winning matchup: This season, the Pelicans are 3-0 against the Kings and 9-10 against everyone else
- ‘Bread & butter:’ Brandon Ingram has five 30+ point games this season. Two are against the Kings as he finished with 30 points, including four of his “bread & butter” pull-up jumpers
- Sacramento’s standouts: Domantas Sabonis (26 pts, 13 reb, 10 ast) posted his second triple-double of the season, while De’Aaron Fox had his seventh 30+ point game in 14 games played
- Where to next?: Alvarado and Murphy have the answer for the Pelicans
4. TONIGHT: LAST TWO TIX TO LAS VEGAS
(4) Knicks at (1) Bucks
Preview | 7:30 ET, TNT
The stories of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jalen Brunson may not seem similar, but the two stars have more in common than you think.
Season 4 Leaps
- Brunson was huge in Dallas’ run to the 2022 West Finals, and propelled that success to a free agent deal with NY
- Antetokounmpo made his first All-Star and became the first player in NBA history to finish in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks
Clutch Standouts
- Brunson ranks second in clutch shooting (52.5%) behind only LeBron James among players with more than 20 clutch FG attempts
- Antetokounmpo ranks 21st in clutch points (29), but ranks second in clutch blocks (4), sixth in clutch assists (8), third in clutch boards (17) with more than five games played
Hustlers
- Brunson leads the NBA in total charges drawn (14)
- Antetkounmpo ranks fourth in scoring in transition (6.7 ppg)
Elite Scorers
- They are two of 10 players with multiple 40+ point games this season
- Antetokounmpo tied for the most with three, while Brunson has two, including one against the Bucks
(4) Suns at (1) Lakers
Preview | 10 ET on TNT
The connection between LeBron James and Kevin Durant added a new layer last week when Durant joined LeBron among the top 10 scorers in NBA history.
Tonight, when the Lakers and Suns meet for the last spot in Vegas, the two greats will face off for the 38th time ever. With more history on the way.
- Respect earned: LeBron welcomed KD to the top 10 scorers club. He also gave KD his flowers after their Group Play matchup: ”He’s that good…he’s great I’m sorry, don’t let me disrespect Kevin Durant”
- Shared greatness: Coming into tonight, their 66,590 combined points will rank as the second-largest head-to-head point total in history – behind MJ and Karl Malone in 2003 (67,365)
- Vogel’s perspective: As someone who has coached both LeBron (2019-2022 in L.A.) and Durant (this season in Phoenix), Frank Vogel says the commonality between the two greats is their work ethic. “Those guys have a natural ability that most people don’t have. But there’s a lot of people that have that type of ability that don’t reach their level. … It’s all about the work they put in.”
5. NBA CUP: BEHIND THE DESIGN
You can’t have a new competition without some new hardware to go with it.
The NBA unveiled the full lineup of trophies for the inaugural In-Season Tournament – the NBA Cup, Tournament MVP, Tournament Medals and All-Tournament Team – all of which are loaded with details celebrating the new event.
Watch how the trophies were forged, and let’s dive into some of the details of The NBA Cup, which will be awarded to the NBA In-Season Tournament Champions.
Design inspiration from the bottom up
- The Base: A blend of the East and West championship trophy bases. The net detailing includes 30 openings for all 30 teams in the tournament
- The Prongs: Eight prongs rise from the base to the half ball Cup, flowing into the eight panels of a basketball, and representing the eight teams that advance to the Knockout Rounds
- The Cup: The NBA drew inspiration from other international competitions when developing the In-Season Tournament and the Cup is a nod to those global cups
- Size and Colors: The trophy stands 23 inches high, representing the year of the inaugural event. The gold prongs and net reinforce the connection to other NBA trophies, while the black base and Cup represent elegance, power and prestige
Tap in to learn more about the NBA Cup and the rest of the new hardware up for grabs in Vegas this weekend.
