Tyrese Haliburton may have hit the shot of the year in the Indiana Pacers' stunning Game 1 victory over the New York Knicks. However, that cannot overshadow the fact that he also attempted a team-high 23 field goals, which is exactly what Pacers fans have wanted to see for quite some time.
In the victory, the Wisconsin native shot 12-for-23 from the field and scored 31 points. Nobody else on the Pacers attempted more than 16 field goals, and only Knicks guard Jalen Brunson had more field goal attempts than Haliburton did.
Haliburton came up huge in Indiana's win and is a big reason they currently own a 1-0 series lead in the conference finals. Not only was he incredible in the clutch, but he was far more aggressive in his shot selections. If this is a sign of things to come, the Pacers are going to be in a great spot the rest of the way.
The Pacers are significantly better when Tyrese Haliburton is aggressive
Heading into Game 1, Haliburton was averaging just 17.5 points over 13 field goal attempts per game. While he is fantastic at playmaking and facilitating, the Pacers need more from Haliburton as a scorer, despite their postseason success up to this point.
In the regular season, the Pacers were 10-2 in games where Haliburton took 18 or more field goal attempts. Additionally, they were 6-0 when he took 19 or more field goal attempts. It is clear that Indiana is at their best when the two-time All-Star is aggressive as a shooter, and it was only a matter of time before that became part of their gameplan.
Haliburton upped the aggressiveness in Game 1, and it was a big reason the Pacers stole a victory in New York. The Pacers are just three wins away from advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. In order to get back to that point, they must continue to rely on their top stars, and that includes Haliburton, who must remain aggressive the rest of the way.
Game 2 will take place on Friday night. As the Pacers look to take a 2-0 series lead back to Indiana, it will be interesting to see what types of adjustments they make. Regardless of what they do, it is crucial that Haliburton plays just like he did in Game 1. It has worked multiple times before, and there is no reason to believe it will not work again.