Indiana Pacers at Houston Rockets
· National Basketball Association
Haliburton’s late 3 leads Pacers to 123-117 win over Rockets
Indiana snapped a three-game losing streak, winning on the road for the first time since Dec. 7.
“When you get .500, you feel a little more pressure because nobody wants to be under .500,” Haliburton said. “We felt like this game was kind of a must win for us. That’s a really good team, a really feisty team, and we just figured out a way to pull it out today.”
Haliburton went 13 of 21 from the field, including 7 of 13 from 3.
There were 15 lead changes and six ties in the game.
Alperen Sengun led Houston with 30 points and 16 rebounds. Sengun was coming off a career-high 37 points in Houston’s 106-104 win over New Orleans on Saturday. He added five assists and four steals on Tuesday.
“We knew they’re like the best offensive team in the league,” Sengun said. “We tried to solve it in the gameplan, but they’re still a good team. They made their clutch shots so they win.”
Fred VanVleet hit a running layup with 1:50 remaining to give Houston a 117-115 lead, their first since early in the third quarter. VanVleet finished with 18 points and nine assists.
Early in the third quarter, Haliburton made three 3-pointers in a two-minute span, capping off a 12-2 run that gave Indiana an 81-74 lead. The Pacers outscored the Rockets 37-23 in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter with a 101-90 lead.
“It was shocking at the point, the way we played in the third quarter and the amount of 3s that they hit that we were still in the game at that point,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said.
Rockets forward Dillon Brooks left the game midway through the third quarter and was later ruled out with a right abdominal oblique strain.
Houston outscored Indiana 74-44 in the paint, while the Pacers did more damage from the 3-point line, where they made 19 of 43.
The Rockets led 67-64 at the half.
Rockets forward Tari Eason tied the game at 33 on the last play of the first quarter by stealing the ball from Andrew Nembhard and finishing with a thunderous breakaway dunk. Eason had 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Houston.
UP NEXT
Pacers: Visit the Bulls on Thursday night.
Rockets: Host the Suns on Wednesday night.
Regular Season Series
IND leads series 1-0
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 123 - 117 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 123 - 117 |
| 4th 9.1 |  |
Aaron Nesmith defensive rebound | 123 - 117 |
| 4th 10.0 |  |
Jabari Smith Jr. misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot | 123 - 117 |
| 4th 20.1 | |
Alperen Sengun defensive rebound | 123 - 117 |
Statistics
 IND |
 HOU |
|
|---|---|---|
| 43-82 | FG | 47-97 |
| 52 | Field Goal % | 48 |
| 19-43 | 3PT | 5-24 |
| 44 | Three Point % | 21 |
| 18-21 | FT | 18-22 |
| 86 | Free Throw % | 82 |
| 45 | Rebounds | 44 |
| 10 | Offensive Rebounds | 15 |
| 35 | Defensive Rebounds | 29 |
| 28 | Assists | 19 |
| 5 | Steals | 15 |
| 7 | Blocks | 2 |
| 20 | Turnovers | 10 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 20 | Total Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 24 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 17 |
| 12 | Fast Break Points | 12 |
| 44 | Points in Paint | 74 |
| 22 | Fouls | 16 |
| 12 | Largest Lead | 10 |
Houston Rockets Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Jabari Smith Jr., F | Day-To-Day | Apr 3 |
| Steven Adams, C | Out | Jan 28 |
| Fred VanVleet, G | Out | Sep 22 |
Indiana Pacers Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Pascal Siakam, F | Day-To-Day | Apr 3 |
| Andrew Nembhard, G | Day-To-Day | Apr 3 |
| T.J. McConnell, G | Day-To-Day | Apr 3 |
| Jarace Walker, F | Out | Apr 2 |
| Aaron Nesmith, G | Out | Apr 2 |
Game Information
Location: Houston, TX
Attendance: 18,055 · Capacity:
Detroit
Cleveland
Milwaukee
Chicago2025-26 Southwest Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 San Antonio |
59 | 18 | .766 | - | W11 |
 Houston |
48 | 29 | .623 | 11 | W5 |
 New Orleans |
25 | 52 | .325 | 34 | L6 |
 Memphis |
25 | 52 | .325 | 34 | L3 |
 Dallas |
24 | 53 | .312 | 35 | L3 |
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