Chris Paul did it with the Clippers in December 2016 against the Pelicans: 20 points, 20 assists and zero turnovers.
Tyrese Haliburton did it Thursday night against the Bulls: 21 points, 20 assists, and no turnovers, leading the Pacers to a win.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said he didn’t think Haliburton would even play in this game the way he looked at shootaround with a tight and sore back. Not only did he play, Haliburton found a groove he hadn’t been in for a while.
“You don’t get 20 assists without guys making a lot of shots,” Haliburton said via the Associated Press. “I’ve done a terrible job of taking care of the ball lately, so it’s good to see zero turnovers again.”
Haliburton was 6-of-13 from 3 during the game but the rest of the Pacers were hitting their shots as well as the team had a 61.8 eFG% for the game. Myles Turner had 24 points, Buddy Hield had 19 off the bench, and both Jalen Smith and Bennedict Mathurin scored 15.
The Bulls were down 25 at one point but stormed back to take a three-point lead in the fourth before Haliburton turned into a closer and earned Indiana the win. Patrick Williams scored 22 points for the Bulls and DeMar DeRozan added 21.
This was a second straight win for a Pacers team that had dropped 6-of-7 after the In-Season Tournament Final.
