On Thursday night, NBA assists leader Tyrese Haliburton assisted on twenty-one points without committing a turnover and contributed twenty-one points to help the Indiana Pacers defeat the Chicago Bulls 120-104.

Chris Paul (2016) became the fifth player in NBA history to record 20 or more assists without committing a turnover, joining Kevin Porter (1978), John Lucas (1983), Rickey Green (1984), and Travis Porter (1984). His participation was questionable prior to the game due to a strained lower back.

Indiana was led by 24-point Myles Turner, while Buddy Hield contributed 19 points. In achieving their second consecutive victory, the high-scoring Pacers fell 19 of 42 from 3-point range.

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Three late 3-pointers by Haliburton stifled a frantic Bulls rally that had seen them trail by as much as 25 points and take a 93-90 lead with eight minutes remaining.

Haliburton jovially mimed a timeout signal to the Chicago bench in jubilation after assisting on Hield’s 3-pointer that increased the Pacers’ lead to 19 early in the third quarter. However, the Bulls responded with a 14-1 run that reduced the deficit to 85-77 entering the fourth.

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Patrick Williams and DeMar DeRozan each scored 22 points to lead Chicago. Two of the last three games for the injury-plagued Bulls have been lost during a six-game homestand.

Coby White has assumed a significant offensive burden in the absence of All-Star guard Zach Lavine for the past fourteen games due to inflammation in his right foot. Despite this, Lavine has struggled to score, going 5-for-19 with 16 points.