Defense optional? Pacers’ Haliburton lights up the 76ers in the loss
By Josh Rendall
The Good
The Pacers offense was flying this evening. Scoring 143 is no small feat, and the Pacers ended up with 7 players in double-figures. I was worried after the end of the first half, which ended on this Haliburton three, that the Pacers were going to fade quickly in the second half…
Tyrese Haliburton puts the exclamation point on a 22-point first half!🔥
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) March 7, 2023
and some love for his little brother after the buzzer beater. pic.twitter.com/owCVWnNVYG
The Pacers surprised me, though. My fears of being on the second night of a back-to-back did not come true. The Pacers continued to pile it on the score board, matching the 76ers and almost doing enough to get the much needed victory.
Perhaps the only flaw tonight for the Pacers offense was from the free-throw line. The Pacers were 22-31, shooting 71%, which would not be a huge problem except that the 76ers were 35-38 from the line. Looking at that statistic, it’s amazing that the Pacers were even in the game! As a side note, the free throw discrepancy is a bit discouraging.