NBA: Haliburton, Pacers run away from Wembanyama, Spurs in Paris
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) shoots against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half of a Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game in Paris, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PARIS — Tyrese Haliburton scored 16 of his 28 points in a dazzling 2-1/2 minute display late in the third quarter, Pascal Siakam scored 23 and the Indiana Pacers downed Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 136-98 in the NBA Paris Games finale on Saturday.
Andrew Nembhard scored 15, Myles Turner had 14, Bennedict Mathurin 13 and TJ McConnell 12 for Indiana. The Pacers led by 15 at halftime, fell behind by one in the third quarter, then rolled the rest of the way.
Wembanyama had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, who won the series opener by 30 on Thursday. Harrison Barnes led San Antonio with 25 points and Stephon Castle scored 17 for the Spurs.
READ: NBA: Victor Wembanyama shines as Spurs throttle Pacers in Paris
16 STRAIGHT.18 IN THE 3RD.7-8 FGM | 4-4 3PM.
Tyrese Haliburton DOMINATED the last 3 minutes.
Pacers back up 12 headed to the 4th on ESPN! pic.twitter.com/xEhlNQwchT
— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2025
Wembanyama shot 7 of 16 from the field, plus he finished with two steals, two assists and a block.
Takeaways
Pacers: Haliburton was 6 for 6 from the field in that end-of-the-third stretch, four of those shots from 3-point range. The Pacers made seven of their final eight shots of the third to open a 15-point lead, then kept running away in the fourth.
Spurs: This was the fourth time that San Antonio played a two-game series against the same opponent this season — and the Spurs have yet to sweep one of those sets. They went 1-1 vs. Houston and Denver (both after winning the first game), 0-2 vs. Memphis and 1-1 vs. the Pacers.
READ: NBA: Spurs enjoy ‘home’ court advantage vs Pacers in Paris
Key moment
Wembanyama checked out with 3:35 left, done for the day with the Spurs down 127-97. He still received a warm reception from the crowd in his homeland, and he applauded to show his appreciation.
Key stat
Haliburton had 18 points in the third quarter, his highest-scoring quarter of the season.
Up next
Both teams are off until home games on Wednesday. The Spurs play host to the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Pacers play host to Detroit.
