Indiana Pacers outlast Atlanta Hawks behind Tyrese Haliburton's 37 to clinch In-Season Tournament quarterfinals spot after teams combine for 309 POINTS

The Indiana Pacers became the first team in the East to reach the quarterfinals of the NBA's In-Season Tournament with a 157-152 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.  

The Pacers reached the knockout rounds of the tournament on the back of Tyrese Haliburton's 37 points and 16 assists. 

The combined 309 points between the two teams makes for the NBA's highest scoring game of the season thus far. 

'It is exciting,' Haliburton said of advancing to the quarterfinals on Tuesday. 'We are the first team to clinch and we are ready to go.'

'We have a few more games before the quarterfinals, so we want to take care of what is in front of us first, but we want to win the championship, of course,' Haliburton added. 'It would be awesome.'

The Hawks led by as many as 20 points in the second quarter, but a 25-point swing saw the Pacers take a five-point lead into the fourth quarter. 

The teams were tied at 152 in the final minute until a Buddy Hield made a jumper to brake the stalemate with 52.1 seconds remaining. 

Atlanta was led by Trae Young, who had 38 points, followed by Dejounte Murray with 28 and Bogdan Bogdanovic finishing with 26. 

'Tyrese, you just run out of accolades,' Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. 'Fearless, leader, great competitor - so happy for him.' 

The Pacers have not made the postseason since 2020, and are currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Tuesday's result good be a good sign of things to come.