Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has a knack for being a high-level playmaker while not turning the ball over. This allowed him to make NBA history on Sunday against the Chicago Bulls.
Heading into the game, Haliburton had 499 assists and 99 turnovers. In other words, he's done a solid job of creating plays for his teammates while making sure to limit his mistakes.
Haliburton ended the day with 17 points, 12 assists, five rebounds, and three steals. He turned the ball over just once, having another healthy assist-turnover ratio. He passed the 500-assist mark 34 seconds into the game with a 3-pointer from Andrew Nembhard.
With this stat line, he recorded 500 assists before reaching 100 turnovers in a single season. This allowed him to become the first player in NBA history to achieve the milestone, per StatMamba.
How Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers played vs Bulls
The game between Tyrese Haliburton's Pacers and Chicago Bulls was mainly close until the former exploded in the fourth quarter.
Indiana withstood a 20-point display in the first half from Chicago's star guard Coby White. They have since limited to six points in the second half, closing off a huge source of production for the Bulls. The score was 95-92 going into the last 12 minutes, but the home side outscored their opponents 32-20 to win by a final score of 127-112.
Aside from Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith had a strong day against the Bulls' defense. He finished with 27 points and five rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, including 6-of-11 from downtown. Pascal Siakam came next with 20 points and six rebounds, Myles Turner put up 16 points and six rebounds, while Andrew Nembhard provided 11 points.
Indiana improved to 34-25 on the season, holding the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They are even with the Milwaukee Bucks, while trailing the New York Knicks by 5.5 games.
Following the win over the Bulls, the Pacers will prepare for their next matchup. They host the Houston Rockets on March 4 at 7 p.m. ET.
