INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points and tied a franchise record with 23 assists, becoming only the third player in NBA history with consecutive 20-20 games in those categories, and the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 140-126 on Saturday night.

Haliburton, who picked up his 23rd on a pass to Andrew Nembhard with 1:05 remaining, joined Hall of Famers Magic Johnson (Dec. 18-19, 1984) and John Stockton (March 1 and March 3, 1990) as the only players with consecutive outings of at least 20 points and 20 assists.

“I didn’t know 23 was the franchise record or otherwise I would have hunted to get 24,” Haliburton said with a laugh. “Any time your name is brought up with legends of the game, it’s awesome.”

Tyrese Haliburton is the third player ever with back-to-back games of 20 PTS and 20 AST, joining John Stockton and Magic Johnson.

He has the most AST and least turnovers of the three in that two-game span:

Johnson: 40 AST, 8 TO
Stockton: 41 AST, 6 TO
Haliburton: 43 AST, 2 TO pic.twitter.com/fzOwhypJKV

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) December 31, 2023

Jamaal Tinsley set the Indiana mark with 23 against Washington on Nov. 22, 2001. Haliburton has 43 assists and two turnovers in the last two games, raising his NBA-leading assist average to 12.8.

“His offensive level is beyond elite,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s put a lot of work in the last two summers on reads, on being able to create rim pressure and to increase his range, and so teams are in a real bind.”

Indiana won its third in a row to improve to 17-14. The Pacers shot 60% from the field and made 23 3-pointers to tie the team record. Myles Turner had 28 points and eight rebounds, while Aaron Nesmith scored 25 points.

“Assists don’t happen without guys making shots,” Haliburton said. “We’re doing that at a high clip right now.”