Tyrese Haliburton scored 28 points, the most in the game, and played a key role in the final five minutes of the third quarter, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 136-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday afternoon, splitting the NBA Paris Games series.
The Spurs won the first game 140-110 on Thursday, but had no answer for the Pacers in this one. Indiana was ahead by 15 points at halftime and by 12 after three quarters. Haliburton scored 16 points in a critical 19-6 run to end the third quarter.
The Pacers dominated the fourth, extending their lead to as much as 38 points as they cruised to the win.
Pascal Siakam contributed 23 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana, which won three out of its last four games. Andrew Nembhard added 15 points, Myles Turner scored 14, Bennedict Mathurin had 13, T.J. McConnell posted 12, and Thomas Bryant scored 10.
Harrison Barnes led the Spurs with 25 points, while Victor Wembanyama, who is from Paris, added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Stephon Castle scored 17 points and Chris Paul had 11. The Spurs have lost four of their last five games.
Indiana dominated the first quarter, finishing with a 33-24 lead after the first 12 minutes.
San Antonio fought back, tying the game at 39 after Wembanyama made two free throws with 7:04 left in the second quarter. Indiana responded, with Nembhard hitting a 3-pointer to give the Pacers a 61-50 lead with 1:39 remaining. A dunk by Turner and a layup from Haliburton at the buzzer pushed the Pacers’ lead to 65-50 at halftime.
Wembanyama led all scorers at the break with 17 points, and Barnes added 11 for the Spurs. Mathurin led Indiana with 11 points in the first half, with Siakam, Nembhard, and Haliburton all scoring 10 each.
San Antonio came back to take a 77-76 lead after Wembanyama’s jumper with five minutes left in the third. The Spurs were still up by one before Haliburton took control, scoring 16 of Indiana’s next 19 points, giving the Pacers a 98-86 lead going into the final quarter.
