Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam's chemistry is on the rise after Pacers win vs. Pelicans

Ladies and gentlemen, it has finally happened. The Indiana Pacers' chemistry is at an all-time high.

On Wednesday, the Pacers played their fifth national TV game of the year, a staggering number for a team only given one game before the season, and they played their hearts out. Fueled by a dominant first quarter after which they led by 16 points, Indiana never looked back on their early momentum and led the entire way against the New Orleans Pelicans, who played all three members of their big three.

Despite Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum all being healthy and putting up solid performances, the Pelicans' star power was no match for the Pacers' balanced output and Indiana pulled away with the 123-114 win after shutting down every single Pelicans comeback opportunity.

Every time the Pelicans looked like they had momentum and cut the Pacers lead down, even to as much as three points in the third quarter, Indiana came storming back with a barrage of offensive firepower and defensive stoppage to shut down any possible momentum the Pelicans could forge together.

Despite fantastic outings from plenty of Pelicans, including 30 points from Brandon Ingram, 23 points from CJ McCollum, and 23 points from Zion Williamson, the trio was not able to get it done in crunch time and the combined powers of Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton were just enough to put the game out of reach for good.

Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam are running the show for the Pacers

Speaking of Indiana's star duo, this game showcased perhaps the best chemistry the two have had together since the trade. Coming into Wednesday's game with a 9-9 record with Siakam, the Pacers were still looking for ways to implement him into the playbook with maximum efficiency.

The Pelicans game showed that progress had made strides since the disaster against Toronto on Monday. Siakam was incredible on the night, leading Indiana with 24 points to go with 11 rebounds and 5 assists as well as 2 blocks to lead the way despite Haliburton's passiveness.

That passiveness would go away in the final period as Haliburton became more aggressive and decided to score more for himself as well as find his star teammate whenever possible. Particularly, with the Pelicans cutting the Pacers' lead to three points with 3:15 left in the game, Haliburton and Siakam made sure this would be the closest New Orleans would get to a potential comeback.

After McCollum's jumper to cut the lead down, Haliburton drained a long-range three to put Indiana up by six, and followed that up with three straight assists to Siakam to bring the Pacers lead to double digits and shut down any hopes of a Pelicans miracle with less than a minute left in the game.

This closing of the game was instrumental in not only this particular win but for the Pacers' fortunes for the rest of the season. Haliburton and Siakam have slowly developed more chemistry as teammates as they have grown more used to playing with one another, and Wednesday felt like the culmination of over an entire month's work.

In only their 15th game together, Haliburton and Siakam played like they had been teammates their entire career, which is exactly what every East team was probably hoping wouldn't happen, especially the teams in the playoff race with Indiana. The chemistry on display on Wednesday was off the charts, and the Pacers hope to take that incredible surge of energy and translate it into some extra wins in the final 22 games of the season.

Speaking of the playoff race, this win just shot Indiana up from a tie for the seventh seed to a tie for the fifth seed. Their next game is crucial as if they win Friday's rematch against New Orleans, Miami loses to Denver, and Philadelphia loses to Charlotte, the Pacers will be the sole owners of the fifth seed in the East, a dramatic change of fortune from where they were just a day or two ago.

Of course, nothing is promised. What seems like the highest of highs can very quickly go downhill if the Pacers do not capitalize off their momentum and beat New Orleans again or take this newfound chemistry and apply it to the rest of the season. However, at least we now know what the team is capable of, as a wire-to-wire victory over a good team on national TV will surely do a lot in boosting the Pacers' stock around the league. Happy Birthday Tyrese Haliburton!