February 16, 2022: 21/14 and first win vs Washington
It took a little while for Haliburton to get his first win as a Pacer, but it was a nice one for sure. After three straight close losses after the trade, Indiana finally put it together and got their first win of the Tyrese Haliburton era.
What a win it was as well, as Washington kept it close for the majority of the game, even outscoring the Pacers in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, the Pacers were able to pull off the win despite only playing eight players due to injury.
For Haliburton himself, it was a fantastic night. After having three fantastic games to start his Pacers career, all of which ended in losses, Haliburton played like he had a chip on his shoulder, as he put up 21 points and dished out 14 assists to help lead the Pacers to a 113-108 win despite 26 points from Kyle Kuzma and 27 from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Despite shooting only 6/17 from the field and 1/6 from beyond the arc, Haliburton helped plenty of his teammates put the ball in the basket, as his 14 assists helped six Pacers finish in double figures on the night, including Tristan Thompson of all people, who scored 17 points off the bench in the best performance of his four-game Pacers career.
RAISE THE ROOF. @RealTristan13 | #GoldBlooded pic.twitter.com/gWK11pDsoM
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 17, 2022
All in all, Tyrese Haliburton's first win as an Indiana Pacer was a pretty good indicator of how his Pacers career would go. From big scoring numbers to the 14 assists, setting his teammates up no matter the skill level, Haliburton was everywhere on the night and earned every bit of his first win as a Pacer. As we would soon find out, this is only the tip of the iceberg.