Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, Team USA take down Australia during 2024 USA Basketball Showcase

Haliburton hit two crucial threes

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton practices for Team USA on July 9, 2024 (Mandatory Photo Credit: Alex Shigio | USA Basketball) /

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton helped Team USA take down Australia in an international scrimmage on Monday. It was the second friendly for the United States ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which begin next week.

The battle was hosted at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It was one of the five games that the red, white, and blue will play as a part of the USA Basketball Showcase this summer.

Haliburton opened the game on the bench again, but Team USA did change their starting lineup. LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, and Anthony Edwards were the first five for the United States — and their outside shooting helped USA race ahead in the first period. James opened the scoring with a corner three, and Edwards was terrific in the early going.

Near the middle of the first frame, Haliburton came in with a new-look second unit that also contained Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, and Bam Adebayo. When the first quarter wrapped up, Haliburton had tallied just a rebound, and Team USA was +5 with him on the court.

More importantly, his team led by 11. To open the second period, Haliburton had two assists in 94 seconds — the United States were up by 16 points when he exited the game.

Team USA's defense was strong for much of the rest of the half, and their lead climbed as high as 18. It was 53-37 at halftime, and Haliburton had two dimes and one board at the time.

The Pacers star started the second half along with the bench group, and he had a sweet pass to Davis in the lane for two points. It wasn't registered as an assist, but it was a clean play from the All-NBA guard. Team USA was up by 20 when Haliburton exited the court.

Australia started a run before Indiana's star left the game, and they continued it after substitutions. The United States has overwhelming size, but they have some low moments on offense with stagnant play. The Boomers had a 14-2 surge during the third quarter, but they still trailed by 15 after three quarters. Haliburton registered no stats in the frame.

He didn't re-enter the game until there was 6:39 to go in the final quarter, and Team USA was up 12 at the time. But they were in the middle of a slump, and in total it lasted for 3.5 minutes — they were stuck on 86 points for several possessions while Australia cut the advantage down as low as six.

Finally, Haliburton scored, and it was a much-needed basket for his team. He hit a three with 3:18 to go that put Team USA up by nine, and he hit another one 47 seconds later that pushed his team to be up by 12.

Tyrese Haliburton's first points of the game. A huge three to break up an Australia run. He knocked in another on the next possession to basically put the game away. pic.twitter.com/CbLhZqXrFp

— Tony East (@TonyREast) July 15, 2024

Leading by a dozen late, even a wobbly finish was enough for Team USA. Haliburton and his teammates held on for a 98-92 win, their second in a row during this showcase — they took down Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard and Team Canada last week.

Haliburton finished with six points, one rebound, and two assists in the victory. Team USA outscored Australia by nine in his minutes, which was the best plus-minus of any player in the outing.

The United States next plays on Wednesday when they take on Serbia.

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