Tyrese Haliburton had 34 points, 13 assists and 9 3-pointers, and the Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 114-110.
Haliburton’s pull-up 3-pointer put the Pacers ahead for good with 3:08 left in the fourth quarter.
The Pelicans got within 109-108 on CJ McCollum’s driving layup with 1:31 to play, but Bennedict Mathurin answered with an alley oop dunk, and the Pelicans got no closer.
T.J. McConnell’s free throw with 13.5 seconds left made it 112-108 and put it away.
During clutch time, the Pacers outscored the Pelicans 12-11. Haliburton (No. 2 in clutch wins added, 2024-25) scored 7 of the Pacers’ 12 on 3 for 6 shooting. In the fourth quarter, Elfrid Payton had 7 of his 21 assists, 2 of them on baskets by Trey Murphy III and Yves Missi that put the Pelicans ahead.
Haliburton and Quenton Jackson set each other up for 6 baskets and 17 points, 2 of them in the fourth quarter.
For the Pelicans, Murphy scored 24 points, and McCollum added 23 points. Payton had 14 points and 21 assists. Missi had 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds off the bench.
The Pelicans got 8 offensive rebounds, about 4 fewer than usual for the shots they missed. The Pelicans outscored the Pacers 49-31 in 16 minutes with McCollum, Payton, Green, Murphy and Missi on the floor together.