T.J. McConnell’s triple-double: Just how crazy was it?

The perfect shooting was an oddity. The dimes were more than what you would expect from a backup point guard. But the steals, the steals were what made T.J. McConnell’s triple-double Wednesday night shocking.

McConnell had nine steals in the first half and 10 for the game, to go with 16 points (8 for 8 from the floor) and 13 assists in the Pacers’ 114-111 win over the Cavaliers.

To show just how eye-popping this feat was, here are some historical notes:

The first-half steals set an NBA record. McConnell missed tying the record for steals in a game (11) by one.

The points-assists-steals combo was the 11th since the NBA made steals an official stat in 1973, and the first for a player off the bench.

The last player with such a triple-double was the Hawks’ Mookie Blaylock in April 1998.

“I was just playing with our defensive principles and trying to help run the team, I wasn’t going out of my way to make steals,” McConnell said, per The Associated Press.

Source: Sporting News