Tyrese Haliburton had 28 points and a career-high 19 assists, Buddy Hield hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime and the Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Rockets 134-125 on Thursday night.
Hield broke a 117-all tie with his fifth 3-pointer and Haliburton scored 12 points after that as the Pacers outscored the Rockets 19-10 in overtime.
‘It ain’t pressure,’ Haliburton said. ‘It’s just basketball. It’s understanding guys expect me to make plays. That’s what I’m here for. … This is part of my maturation as an NBA player and as a point guard in this organization. I love that. I love that expectation for me.’
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle spoke of his All-Star point guard’s growing affinity for making plays late.
‘He took over the game in overtime,’ Carlisle said. ‘He certainly has demonstrated that is what he’s about. He loves those moments, very much the way (Hall of Famer) Reggie Miller loved those moments.’
Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton (0) puts up a shot against Houston Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr.
Haliburton (0) passes the ball while Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) defends
The Pacers have won seven consecutive games against the Rockets, who have the NBA´s second-worst record at 15-51.
‘I will blame Buddy for not having 20 (assists),’ Haliburton said with a smile, referring to Hield’s missed shot.
The Rockets trailed for all of three quarters before rallying with a 15-2 run to take a 110-108 lead with 4:10 remaining. Houston rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. made a 3-pointer with four seconds left to force overtime.
‘Smith hit a hellacious shot to put them in overtime,’ Carlisle said, ‘and we had to come up big.’
Indiana’s Myles Turner scored 21 points and blocked seven shots. Jordan Nwora added 18 points off the bench. Hield had 17.
Smith scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half and had 12 rebounds. Jalen Green had 24 points, and Kenyon Martin Jr. 23.
‘It’s progress,’ Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. ‘It’s getting down a bunch, fighting back, finding lineups that haven’t played together much. We’ve just got to figure out a way to shoot some more 3s. They made more than we shot. That’s hard to overcome.’
Indiana hit 14 of 24 shots, including 6 of 12 3-pointers, to take a 38-27 lead after the first quarter. Indiana led by 18 in the first half and had a 64-58 edge at halftime.
The Rockets had an 82-58 edge in points in the paint and outrebounded the Pacers 58-42.
‘These guys with 17 games to go are fighting really hard, and that’s progress,’ Silas said.
Haliburton celebrates a made shot in overtime against the Houston Rockets on Thursday
JAZZ 131, MAGIC 124
Lauri Markkanen scored 31 points, Talen Horton-Tucker had 23 and Utah beat Orlando to snap a four-game losing streak.
Simone Fontecchio added 17 points for Utah, and rookie Walker Kessler´s 13 points and 10 rebounds included a big three-point play with 35 seconds left after the Magic cut the deficit to a point.
Paolo Banchero scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for Orlando. Markelle Fultz had 25 points and six assists.
Lauri Markkanen #23 of the Utah Jazz drives to the basket game against the Orlando Magic
HORNETS 113, PISTONS 103
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 27 points and Terry Rozier had 21 points and nine assists as the Charlotte Hornets beat Detroit 113-103 on Thursday night and extended the Pistons’ losing streak to 10 games.
P.J. Washington added 20 points and Nick Richards had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, who won their second straight game and for the seventh time in 10 games.
Cory Joseph scored 17 points and James Wiseman had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons.
Kelly Oubre Jr. #12 of the Charlotte Hornets shoots the ball against the Detroit Pistons
BUCKS 118, NETS 113
Brook Lopez had 24 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high nine blocks and the Milwaukee Bucks outlasted the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 118-113 on Thursday night.
The nine blocks are most by an NBA player this season. Bobby Portis added a season-high 28 points to go along with 13 rebounds to help the NBA-leading Bucks win for the 19th time in 20 games.
The Bucks were missing two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for a second straight game. Antetokounmpo didn’t play due to a sore right hand after sitting out a 134-123 victory at Orlando on Tuesday with a non-COVID illness.
Bucks’ center Brook Lopez shoots past Brooklyn Nets’ Yuta Watanabe and Day’Ron Sharpe
KINGS 119, KNICKS 115
The Sacramento Kings defeated the New York Knicks 119-115 in large part thanks to a Domantas Sabonis recording his nineth triple-double of the season to go along with 24 points.
De’ Aaron was not far behind with 24 points, fellow former Kentucky wildcat Malik Monk scored 19.
RJ Barrett led the way for the Knicks with 25 points who will be left concerned over the status of star point guard Jalen Brunson who exited the game at half time with a sore foot.
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Brunson missed the Knicks previous two games due to the foot issue.
Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings celebrates during the game against the Knicks
