On Thursday evening, star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers advanced to the final round of the NBA's first ever In-Season tournament with a thrilling win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas. Haliburton continued his stellar play as of late, recording 27 points and 15 assists with no turnovers, and Indiana was able to withstand a series of Milwaukee runs in the second half to be able to take over down the stretch en route to the victory.

Still, despite Haliburton's sustained level of play, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle believes that the true difference maker on Thursday evening was the play of his team's bench unit.

“Our bench really was the difference in today's game,” said Carlisle, specifically praising backup guard TJ McConnell for his performance, per Tony East of Sports Illustrated on X.

TJ McConnell has long been a source of energy for the Pacers' bench unit, consistently getting in passing lanes and frustrating opposing players on defense while filling in the (relatively few) holes that exist in Indiana's offensive attack.

Still, the star of the show on Thursday, and for pretty much the entire season for that matter, was Tyrese Haliburton, who looks poised to be a shoo-in for his second straight All-Star selection when the teams are voted on next month.

The Pacers now await the winner of the Western Conference bracket, between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans, to see who they will be playing on Saturday evening for the right to hold the NBA's first-ever In-Season Tournament Cup.