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Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Praises 76ers’ Georges Niang on Twitter

Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton showed love to Georges Niang on Twitter during Sunday's matchup.

Justin Grasso

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On Sunday, just ten NBA teams had the opportunity to participate in the Christmas Day slate. The Philadelphia 76ers were one of them, as they were scheduled to take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden to kick things off for the day.

For the 20 other teams that didn’t get the chance to play on Christmas, their players were tuned into the primetime matchups. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton was one of them, and he liked what he saw from Philadelphia’s key sharpshooter, Georges Niang.

The first half of action wasn’t great for the Sixers on Sunday. As Knicks star Julius Randle caught fire in the first half, scoring 25 points in 19 minutes, he helped his team maintain a 63-60 lead over the Sixers by halftime.

In the third quarter, both teams kept it tight as the stars shined bright. Through the first three quarters of action, Philadelphia’s star duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden dominated as they accounted for 54 of Philadelphia’s 95 points. Meanwhile, the Sixers’ bench was led by Shake Milton, who scored eight points in 18 minutes.

Niang was having a quiet outing. In ten minutes on the floor, the veteran drained two of his four shots for four points. With limited opportunities at hand, Niang didn’t contribute much offensively through the first three-quarters of action, but that changed in the fourth quarter.

Haliburton, who was tuned in to watch the Eastern Conference playoff contenders battle it out, was excited to see a fellow Iowa State alum shine on primetime.

Niang’s fourth-quarter performance on Sunday was nothing short of explosive. With seven shots from beyond the arc, Niang drilled four of them. Checking in for the entire fourth quarter, the veteran sharpshooter led Philadelphia in fourth-quarter, scoring 12 points.

Niang’s fourth-quarter rally led the Sixers to outscore the Knicks 24-16. As a result, the Sixers completed their comeback and defeated New York 119-112. The Sixers have now won eight in a row and move to 20-12 on the season. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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