Pacers Out-shoot Hawks to Secure Spot in NBA In-Season Tournament

The quarter-finals will be played December 4-5, with winners advancing to semi-final games on December 7 and a championship match on December 9 in Las Vegas.Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, who said this week the new tournament gave “more juice” to early-season games, scored 22 of his 37 points in the third quarter as the Pacers erased a 20-point first-half deficit.“It’s good to clinch,” Haliburton — who also handed out 16 assists — said after the Pacers improved to 3-0 in tournament play and locked up first place in East’s Group A. “Buddy won us the game down the stretch, a lot of big buckets.”Hield’s three-pointer put Indiana up 152-150 with 1:20 remaining. After Saddiq Bey pulled Atlanta level with a layup, Hield drained another three-pointer for a 155-152 Pacers lead with less than a minute to go. Hield connected on nine of 11 from the field and made all six of his three-point attempts. Trae Young scored 38 points to lead the Hawks, who led by 20 in the second quarter. It was a tight finish in Philadelphia, where Darius Garland scored 32 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 122-119 overtime victory over the 76ers that kept alive the Cavs’ hopes of advancing in the tournament via a wild card berth.