Haliburton posts triple-double as Pacers top Knicks to take 3-1 lead

(Reuters) - Tyrese Haliburton recorded 32 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds without a turnover to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 130-121 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.

In addition to notching his second career postseason triple-double, Haliburton made five 3-pointers and four steals to help the Pacers take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Pascal Siakam scored 30 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 20 in 12 minutes off the bench and Aaron Nesmith contributed 16 points for fourth-seeded Indiana.

Jalen Brunson scored 31 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 12 rebounds and OG Anunoby added 22 points for the third-seeded Knicks. Mikal Bridges scored 17 points and Josh Hart added 12 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

Game 5 is Thursday in New York.

Nesmith was declared good to go by Pacers coach Rick Carlisle more than an hour before tipoff. He sprained his right ankle midway through the third quarter of Game 3 on Sunday.

Myles Turner added 13 points before fouling out for Indiana, which shot 51.1 percent from the field that included 13-of-32 from 3-point range. The Pacers again excelled in transition with a 22-9 edge in fast-break points to increase its advantage to 65-23 in that category for the series.

The Knicks made 46.3 percent of their shots and were 12-of-28 from behind the arc. New York had a 44-33 rebounding edge.

The Pacers scored the first seven points of the second half to conclude a 13-0 burst and grab a 76-64 advantage.

The Knicks cut their deficit to 89-84 after two free throws by Brunson with 3:59 left in the third quarter, but a 3-pointer by Haliburton made it 99-89 with 55.6 seconds left in the period and the Pacers took a 102-91 lead into the final stanza.

Siakam scored five straight points early in the quarter to give Indiana its largest lead at 111-96. But New York scored seven straight to move within 115-109 after a putback by Towns with 4:24 left.

But Indiana maintained its pace and the lead was 126-116 after Obi Toppin drilled a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left.

Haliburton was electric in the first half with 20 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as the Pacers led 69-64 at the break. Indiana scored the final six points of the half. Brunson scored 16 in the half for New York.