Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner post double-doubles to lead Pacers to IST Finals

LAS VEGAS -- The Pacers claimed the Eastern Conference title in the In-Season Tournament, downing the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks 128-119 at T-Mobile Arena to advance to Saturday's finals to play the Lakers, who defeated the Pelicans in the West final.

The Pacers improved to 12-8. The Bucks fell to 15-7. The Pacers play Los Angeles at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in a game that will be televised on ABC and ESPN2.

Here are four observations.

Tyrese Haliburton shows out on big stage

As established of a star as Tyrese Haliburton was coming into the In-Season Tournament -- having already earned an All-Star nod last season, a spot on Team USA in the summer and a max contract extension in July -- the event has brought an even brighter spotlight to Haliburton. Just about every major media outlet covering the NBA was talking about Haliburton after his triple-double in Monday's win over the Celtics, and he was the talk of the town in Las Vegas.

So Haliburton was in a position to match the moment and he very much did. He was attacking off the dribble from the jump and made layups for each of his first three buckets. As usual, he scored at all three levels, breaking down the Bucks defense off the dribble, hitting floaters when Milwaukee went to a zone and making 3s. When he attracted extra defenders, he found teammates. He finished with 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 3-of-9 from 3-point range, to go with 15 assists against zero turnovers.

And just like on Monday, he knocked down a massive shot when the Pacers needed it. They led by five with a minute to play, but Milwaukee was charging. Haliburton hit a step-back 3 from the left wing to put the Pacers up 122-114, essentially closing out the game.

"It's cool," Haliburton said of how well he's played lately. "It feels like 2K sometimes. It feels really good for me."

Haliburton has put himself in a position that he could be named In-Season Tournament MVP even if the Pacers lose Saturday. He's averaging 27.8 points and 13.7 assists per game in the event while shooting 51.8% from the floor, 44.8% from 3-point range and 88.9% from the free throw line. His 82 total assists in the event are 37 more than any other player. His 29 3-pointers are also the most of any player and his 167 total points put him behind only Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo (174) and Damian Lillard (172) and he will certainly pass both Saturday with them now eliminated.

"Tyrese is just one of those transcendent players that with him on the court," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, "anything is possible."

Myles Turner, Obi Toppin also step up

With Milwaukee's massive front line, the Pacers needed production in the frontcourt to stay within striking distance. The Pacers has a hard time stopping Milwaukee around the rim, but center Myles Turner and power forward Obi Toppin were nearly as potent around the rim themselves.

Turner scored 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting with two violent dunks through contact in the first half. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots. Toppin scored on a lob from Turner for the first points in the game, and got more buckets through excellently timed cuts and remarkable leaps. He went up extraordinarily high to grab a three-quarter court pass and throw it down over his head for a reverse alley-oop. Toppin finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Those two and others helped the Pacers figure out the Bucks' 2-3 zone which caused them some problems in the second and the third quarter. Bruce Brown was also a key piece against it with eight fourth quarter points.

"This guy dominated the paint for us offensively," Haliburton said, referring to Turner. "We knew after last time we played them we got up 20 in the first quarter, and they went to zone and that slowed us down and got them going, so we expected that. We talked a lot about that in our preparation for this, understanding how they were going to go to zone, force us to the middle."

Giannis Anteokounmpo, Damian Lillard cause problems

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle noted pregame that the Bucks cause problems because they have "All-World" players in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, and the Milwaukee superstars very much matched that description.

After scoring 54 points against the Pacers on Nov. 9, the 6-11 Antetokounmpo was no less of a force on Thursday, physically overwhelming any Pacers defender. The Pacers, especially Aaron Nesmith, fought valiantly and took a physical beating, but Antetokounmpo still got to the rim at will and drew fouls on the way. He scored 37 points on 13-of-19 shooting and 11-of-13 free throws.

Lillard struggled to find an offensive flow in the first half and scored just four points on 2-of-10 shooting. However, immediately after halftime he came back firing, hitting four 3s right out of the gate. He scored 16 points in the third quarter alone and added four in the fourth to finish with 24. Lillard keyed a 43-28 third quarter that helped the Bucks erase what had been a 63-51 Pacers halftime advantage.

T.J. McConnell gives Pacers second-unit edge

Tyrese Haliburton is still less than a week removed from a nasty bout of bronchitis that left him kept him out of Saturday's win over the Heat and forced him to use an inhaler at halftime of Monday's win over Boston. The Pacers needed to get him at least some rest, and they needed production when he was on the bench. They got it thanks in large part to T.J. McConnell.

The veteran point guard was told when the season began that his minutes might not be constant and he wasn't necessarily part of the rotation, but he's continued to prove indispensable with constant energy on both ends of the floor.

McConnell helped harass Lillard in the first half, and he grabbed three steals in just 8:30 of action, at one point coming around Khris Middelton's back with a double team, ripping his dribble away near the sideline, grabbing the ball and whipping it off Middleton out of bounds. He made 3-of-5 field goals for seven points, getting around Antetokounmpo for a reverse layup. He posted three assists in that stretch, giving away an easy fast-break layup so that Bennedict Mathurin could get a dunk. Thanks in large part to his help, the Pacers' bench outscored the Bucks' bench 20-6 in the first half.

McConnell added another bucket in the second half on a tip-in of an offensive rebound. He finished with nine points and four assists and helped the Pacers outscore Milwaukee's bench 43-13.

"T.J. just inspires me," Carlisle said. "He inspires his teammates with the way he plays, his passion. He's a little unconventional with his style of play, but he's very difficult to deal with. He was great in the first half and made huge plays in the second half. I thought his tip-in was one of the highlights of the season."

McConnell finished with nine points and four assists in the game, and the Pacers also got important contributions from second-year guard Andrew Nembhard. The Bucks went after the Pacers with a 2-3 zone, but Nembhard attacked it off the dribble with floaters and scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.

"Andrew Nembhard gave us a big lift in the third quarter when we were reeling," Carlisle said. "Their zone was a problem. We just didn't get a very good rhythm against it right away. He helped us get the ball in the basket three or four straight times."

However, Nembhard exited in the fourth quarter and had to be helped to the locker room after injuring his right knee. He did not return to the game. Carlisle said the Pacers are hopeful the injury is not serious, but noted that it could be a hyper extension.

Pacers box score vs. Bucks

Indiana 128, Milwaukee 119

INDIANA (128): Hield 3-11 2-2 8, Toppin 6-8 1-2 14, Turner 9-18 6-8 26, B.Brown 3-9 4-4 10, Haliburton 11-19 2-2 27, Jackson 5-7 1-1 11, Mathurin 3-12 3-3 9, Nembhard 4-5 0-0 8, Nesmith 2-6 1-1 6, McConnell 4-7 1-2 9. Totals 50-102 21-25 128.

MILWAUKEE (119): G.Antetokounmpo 13-19 11-13 37, Middleton 7-13 2-2 20, B.Lopez 7-17 1-3 18, Beasley 3-9 0-0 7, Lillard 7-20 6-6 24, Beauchamp 2-3 1-4 5, Portis 2-5 0-0 4, Green 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Payne 2-9 0-0 4. Totals 43-96 21-28 119.

IND 27 36 28 37 — 128

MIL 29 22 43 25 — 119

3-Point Goals—Indiana 7-33 (Haliburton 3-9, Turner 2-8, Toppin 1-3, Nesmith 1-4, B.Brown 0-1, Mathurin 0-2, Hield 0-6), Milwaukee 12-33 (Middleton 4-5, Lillard 4-9, B.Lopez 3-10, Beasley 1-4, G.Antetokounmpo 0-1, Portis 0-1, Payne 0-3). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Indiana 51 (Hield 11), Milwaukee 46 (G.Antetokounmpo 10). Assists_Indiana 30 (Haliburton 15), Milwaukee 19 (Lillard 7). Total Fouls_Indiana 21, Milwaukee 17. A_16,837 (18,000)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Bucks: Tyrese Haliburton leads Pacers to IST title game