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Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and defense lead Pacers to win over Golden State

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Pacers got double-doubles from their two All-Stars and exceptional second-half defense to knock off the Golden State Warriors 123-111 on Friday night at the Chase Center.

The Pacers improved to 40-31 and sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games ahead of Philadelphia and Miami. The Warriors fell to 36-33 and sit in 10th in the West.

Here are four observations.

Pacers change game with defense in the third

Throughout the first two quarters, Friday night's game seemed destined to be a shootout with Golden State's Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson going off like old times, but Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam answering. However the Pacers took a big lead thanks to a 36-21 third quarter in which they were particularly stingy on defense.

After posting 67 first-half points with 10 first-half 3-pointers and shooting 26 of 56 (46.4%) from the floor with 1.30 points per possession, the Pacers held Golden State to 8 of 26 shooting, including 3 of 13 from 3-point range. Curry and Thompson combined to go 2 of 9 from the field and the Warriors posted 0.78 points per possession in a period where they have so often been dominant in their dynastic run. Meanwhile the Pacers made 15 of 26 shots and posted 1.28 points per possession to take a 102-88 lead into the fourth.

In the fourth quarter the Pacers' defense didn't let up either. They held Golden State to 23 points on 7 of 19 shooting in that period including 1 of 6 shooting from 3-point range. All told, the Warriors made just 17 of 50 field goals and 4 of 23 3-pointers after the break.

"We had to bring our attitude up," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "We had to bring a defiance to how we were playing defensively. ... To hold this team to 111 is a great collective effort.”

The defensive improvement was partially driven by Pacers second-year point guard Andrew Nembhard, who drew the assignment on Stephen Curry. Curry got him early with 13 first-quarter points, but Nembhard hung with him fighting through screen and keeping up with Curry all night. Curry finished 9 of 24 from the floor and 6 of 18 from 3-point range for 25 points.

"It's tiring,” Nembhard said. “He definitely moves a lot off the ball and never lets you rest. He's going to make shots regardless of how tough you make it. It's one of those things you have to keep yourself in it even when he hits shots on you."

Myles Turner broke the blocks record

Myles Turner entered Friday's action needing just two blocks to tie and three to break former Pacers All-Star Jermaine O'Neal's franchise record for career blocked shots.

Turner recorded two in the first half, the second coming on a chase down block on an attempted layup by Warriors big man Draymond Green. The record breaker came when he pinned a layup attempt from forward Jonathan Kuminga off the backboard. He added two more, including a block on a 3 he swatted out of the hands of Stephen Curry. Turner finished with five blocks and he also scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

"It's definitely an emotional feeling just being here as long as I have," Turner said. "Just going through everything I've been through. It's amazing I can leave with something, no matter what happens in the future. I can tell my kids about this moment, my grandkids."

Tyrese Haliburton finds his 3-point stroke

This may or may not mean Tyrese Haliburton's slump is over for good, but at least for Friday, he seemed to have his old feel for his 3-point shot.

Haliburton hit three of his first four 3-pointers including two in a row in the first quarter and a deep one just before the halftime buzzer. It was the first time since March 5 and just the fourth time since the All-Star break that Haliburton has hit three 3-pointers in a game.

Haliburton appeared to have hit a fourth 3 late in the third quarter, but a replay found his foot was on the line and it was corrected to two points. But then, just before the third-quarter buzzer, Haliburton threw in a rainbow 3 to get his fourth, finishing 4 of 8 from 3 on the night. The last time he hit four 3-pointers in a game was against Detroit the game after the All-Star break.

"It felt good to see a couple go in," Haliburton said. "I just continue to trust my work and trust what I do and good things will happen.

And 3-point shooting wasn't all Haliburton did. He scored 26 points on 9 of 18 shooting, continuing to get buckets going to the rim as well. He also dished out 11 assists, grabbed two rebounds and four steals.

"Tyrese put together a masterpiece tonight," Carlisle said. "Both scoring, assists, playmaking and defense too. ... The recognition, the aggression, the timely shot-making. The shot at the end of the third-quarter was enormous. It takes it from (an 11-point lead to 14), which was a huge difference and they only have one timeout left. Special players do special things. He was great tonight."

Haliburton's 3-point shooting helped the Pacers post their best shooting night in the last two weeks. They made 15 of 36 3-pointers, 41.7%. They haven't made that many 3s or shot at a higher percentage since their win in Dallas on March 5.

Pascal Siakam posts another double-double

Pascal Siakam has been the Pacers' steadying force throughout the post-All-Star break period as they have weathered various storms, and he was one of the biggest reasons they were able to keep pace with the Warriors early and put them away in the end.

Siakam posted 25 points on 11 of 17 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds to go with six assists. He still hasn't scored fewer than 12 points in a game with the Pacers and he's the team's leading scorer since the All-Star break with 20.3 points per game.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam post double-doubles in Pacers' win