Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton passes Magic Johnson's NBA playoff record

Billy Heyen

Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton passes Magic Johnson's NBA playoff record image

There might not be anyone in the history of basketball who passes the ball the way Tyrese Haliburton does while avoiding turnovers.

If one name comes to mind, it's Magic Johnson. And sure, while that might be a top-end comparison for the current Indiana Pacers superstar point guard, it's also representative of what Haliburton has become.

And on Tuesday night, in an epic Game 4 win over the Knicks, Haliburton passed Magic Johnson (and Larry Bird) on an NBA record list.

Haliburton finished the game with 15 assists and 0 turnovers. It's the most ever assists without a turnover in the history of the NBA's conference finals round.

The record was held by Avery Johnson, at 13, and both Magic and Bird had a game in their career with 12. 

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It was made all the more impressive by the fact that Haliburton also dropped 32 points in the process. So not only was he passing the ball all over the place. He was also driving and pulling up and scoring from everywhere while protecting the ball in the process.

And he grabbed 11 rebounds. It's the first 30-10-15 game with zero turnovers in NBA playoff history.

In some ways, Haliburton needs to be watched for an entire game to be fully appreciated.

He throws pinpoint advance passes. He dribbles into the best spots to set up his teammates. He rarely looks for his own shot despite the ability to score in bunches.

Haliburton has discovered the recipe for winning basketball games, and he's been cooking it up often as of late.

No one can ever be Magic, but Haliburton sure is playing pretty magically right now.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle