Tyrese Haliburton cracks 1,000 career assists during Indiana Pacers road trip: 'We know he can pass the ball'

Haliburton is one of the best passers in the NBA and he just reached his first passing milestone.

With his first assist against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton reached 1,000 career assists. It took him just 142 games to accomplish the feat.

The assists came in the second quarter of the Pacers 125-116 win over the Nets. Haliburton pushed the ball in transition, spun around, and found rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin in the left corner for a three-pointer. Mathurin went on to have 32 points in that game while Haliburton finished with eight assists.

"He's a pure pass-first point guard all the way," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Haliburton earlier this season. The 22-year old guard finished fourth in the NBA in total assists during the 2021-22 season and currently sits behind only James Harden in the ongoing season.

Haliburton currently is averaging 9.4 assists per game, which would be a Pacers franchise record if it lasts for the whole campaign. The current record holder is Mark Jackson, who dished out 8.7 dimes per game for the blue and gold in 1997-98.

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Jackson would go on to distribute 713 assists that season. If Haliburton remains healthy this year, he could make a push for that record. He finished with 628 assists last season between his time in Sacramento and Indiana, which would have been ninth on Indiana's all-time leaderboard.

The 2020 lottery pick has more games this season with ten or more assists (five) than games with fever than ten assists (three). He is a master at setting up his Pacer teammates, which is why Indiana's offense is 5.2 points per 100 possessions better with Haliburton on the court than off, per pbpstats.

"We know he can pass the ball and he can score as well, he showed [that] today," Pacers center Goga Bitadze said of Haliburton after a game earlier in the season.

Haliburton also scored his 2,000th career point this season during Indiana's third game. He and the Indiana Pacers next take the court on Friday when they host the Miami Heat.

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