Pacers head to NBA Finals for first time since 2000, besting Knicks in Game 6

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers came in as the returning Eastern Conference finalist most had forgotten about. All of New York, and the basketball world, remembers them now.

The Pacers won Game 6 over the Knicks, 125-108, on Saturday to clinch their second NBA Finals berth and a matchup against the league’s best regular-season team, with MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on its side, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Game 1 in Oklahoma City is at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. Indiana has never won an NBA title. The Thunder have one – from 1979 when they were the Seattle SuperSonics.

“I can’t put into words how special this is,” said Tyrese Haliburton, the face of the Pacers. “We got to the same spot last year, fell short, and we just worked our tails off to get back here.”

Pascal Siakam, voted the MVP of the conference finals, led Indiana with 31 points to go with five boards, while Haliburton turned in a brilliant double-double with 21 points and 13 assists – 11 of those points in the fourth quarter.

Siakam won MVP and collected the Larry Bird trophy by a narrow vote of nine media members covering the series, beating out Haliburton by one vote. Siakam averaged 24.8 points and shot better than 50 percent or better from both the field and 3-point range. Haliburton averaged 21 points and 10.5 assists, but didn’t get going until late in Game 6 after a brutal performance in a Game 5 loss, which probably cost him that single vote.

“Enjoy tonight and after that look forward,” said Siakam, who won a title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. “We have a team out there waiting for us that’s serious. They’re the best team in the NBA.”

Andrew Nembhard, who had struggled to shoot for much of the series, contributed 14 points, eight assists and six steals. He knocked down a 3 with 4:20 left to put the Pacers up by 19.

The Knicks were led by OG Anunoby with 24 points. Jalen Brunson, who arguably had the best series of any player on the court, contributed 19 points but shot 8-of-18 and was hounded defensively by Nembhard. Karl-Anthony Towns, playing on a sore knee, finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds. The Knicks got to the conference finals by pulling a significant upset in besting the defending-champion Boston Celtics in six games.

“There’s disappointment because you fall short of what your goal is – only one team achieves the goal,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

This is the Pacers’ first trip to the finals since 2000 when they beat, coincidentally, the Knicks in six games. Indiana made it to the conference finals last year by beating the Knicks in a Game 7, only to be swept by the Celtics. Indiana was a No. 6 seed a year ago and entered this spring’s tournament as a four seed, behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston and the Knicks.

After a gentleman’s sweep of the Bucks, who lost Damian Lillard to a torn Achilles, the Pacers stunned – and largely dominated – a Cavs team that fought with Oklahoma City all season for the league’s best record.

Following a similar playbook to their first two series triumphs, the Pacers used their style of relentless pressure and relied on their depth to wear down the Knicks over six games.

“This was as intense of a series as you’re ever going to have in six games,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said.

The series had it all, from Haliburton’s lucky bounce that tied Game 1 at the buzzer, followed by his Reggie Miller choke sign, to a 20-point comeback by the Knicks in Game 3, to ESPN personality Pat McAfee calling New York’s traveling celebrity fan base of movie stars Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, and Spike Lee “sons of (expletive)” into the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Game 4. Kylie Jenner made the trip to Indianapolis for Game 6 with her boyfriend, Chalamet, who has emerged as Lee’s deputy general among famous Knicks faithful. Jon Hamm knocked a ball away from Haliburton as it was headed out of bounds during a game in New York; Haliburton’s father was allowed back at games midway through the series after a temporary ban for taunting Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Perhaps the big surprise of Game 6 (other than Jenner seated along the baseline) was the emergence of Thomas Bryant, a reserve center seldom used in this series who canned his first three 3-pointers in minutes he received because of Myles Turner’s foul trouble and a hip injury to Tony Bradley. Bryant, who infamously was calling for a pass into the paint while LeBron James took the jumper a couple of years ago that made him the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, was a 32-percent shooter from 3-point range during the regular season, but to make those shots after not seeing much court time, in a tight, high-pressure game, helped swing the tide in Indiana’s favor. Obi Toppin gave the Pacers 18 points off the bench to go with Bryant’s 11.

Aaron Nesmith remains hobbled by an ankle injury, though he has yet to miss time. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in Game 6, and the Pacers will need him against the Thunder’s excellent, physical wings. Jarace Walker, who saw time in the last two games of the series because Nesmith was struggling to guard Brunson, severely rolled his right ankle contesting a shot near the start of the fourth quarter and had to be helped to the locker room. He left the arena after the win on crutches.

“Well, he’s young – so that’s good,” Carlisle said, when asked about Walker’s prognosis.

The Pacers were 10-15 at one point and were still under .500 in January. What happened next? They have not lost consecutive games for six months.

Can they keep that streak going for another two weeks or so? — Joe Vardon, NBA senior writer

Tyrese Haliburton had a huge fourth quarter to keep New York at bay. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

Pacers’ full-court pressure flummoxes Knicks

One sequence spoke a larger truth about Game 6. On a single New York possession with approximately four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Pascal Siakam hounded ballhandler Josh Hart just beyond midcourt. After Hart shoveled the ball to Jalen Brunson, Andrew Nembhard stymied Brunson, causing the ball to go out of bounds and nearly forcing a turnover. As color commentator Stan Van Gundy noted, 17 seconds elapsed from the shot clock.

The Knicks never found a solution for the Pacers’ full-court pressure. Not only did it seem to break the Knicks’ spirit, but the Pacers’ relentless effort in the Knicks’ backcourt also prevented the Knicks from getting into their offense promptly. That, in turn, left the Knicks with precious little time left on the shot clock.

The Pacers deserve credit for their effort, but the Knicks’ coaching staff had to find a solution. How about having a Knicks big man run some interference for their ballhandlers in their own backcourt, at least on occasion?

Indiana’s relentless pressure took some of the energy out of Brunson, making him less effective later in possessions. ‒ Josh Robbins, NBA senior writer

Turnovers bite Knicks

In a series where the teams are so evenly matched, little mistakes can make a huge difference. In Game 6, the Knicks made far too many errors that, in totality, amounted to an avalanche of Pacers points.

New York committed 18 turnovers, leading to a whopping 34 Indiana points. That’s an incredible ratio, particularly in a conference finals game.

Yes, the Pacers subjected Knicks ballhanders to relentless defensive pressure. But the Knicks’ transition defense was nonexistent. New York looked like an exhausted team. ‒Robbins

Pacers show what makes them tough

Saturday was a microcosm of what made the Pacers better than the Knicks, as closeout games tend to be. The Pacers controlled the pace and made it a 94-foot game. They consistently leaked out into transition and got easy baskets behind a Knicks defense that just didn’t prepare for run outs. They moved the ball well, while the Knicks were stagnant. The Pacers scored 30 more points off passes than New York did. And of course Haliburton had another star turn that New York couldn’t snuff out.

Brunson had 19 points and seven assists; Towns had 22 points and 14 rebounds; Anunoby had 24 points as he finally came alive in this series. But it was all not enough. The Knicks rearranged their roster to try to outdo the Celtics, and did, but they couldn’t match the Pacers’ speed and verve. — Mike Vorkunov, NBA senior writer

Pacers finally reach big stage

The Pacers are on their way back to the NBA Finals thanks to a Game 6 masterclass.

From the tip, Indiana gave the Knicks all they could handle before officially crowning itself as the class of the Eastern Conference. With the Pacers’ 125-108 win over New York, they reach their second NBA Finals in franchise history and first since 2000, when they lost to the eventual three-peat champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Haliburton had another masterful outing as he continued his postseason tear since being voted the NBA’s most overrated player. With 21 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and three steals, he was the catalyst for a Pacers offense that shot 54.1 percent overall and totaled as many 3s (17) as the Knicks did turnovers.

Now, the Pacers will advance to face the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the finals, which tip off on Thursday on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET. Throughout the postseason, Indiana has made a reputation for completing impressive comebacks, but it will face its ultimate challenge of facing one of the most dominant squads, when measuring by point differential, in league history. — James Jackson, NBA editor

Bryant comes up big

Thomas Bryant didn’t play in Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. He barely in played in Game 5, a 17-point Pacers loss that sent the series back to Indiana.

But with another chance for the Pacers to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, Bryant delivered with a playoff career-high 11 points, three rebounds and one block off the bench. Starting center Myles Turner was whistled for his fourth foul with 10:14 left in the third quarter, forcing Pacers coach Rick Carlisle to turn to his reserves. Bryant had been replaced in the rotation earlier in the series by fellow backup center Tony Bradley, but with Bradley nursing a hip injury he suffered in Game 5, Bryant was suddenly thrust into his most crucial role of the season in Game 6.

On the Pacers’ first possession after Turner subbed out in the third quarter, Bryant blocked a layup attempt by Anunoby that led to a Siakam and-1 on the other end that gave Indiana a 67-54 lead. Bryant followed up that sequence by drilling his first three 3-point attempts, each one warranting a louder roar from the home crowd as the Pacers clinched just their second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. Saturday marked only the second time in 17 career playoff games that Bryant scored in double figures. Already an NBA champion with the Nuggets in 2022-23, he now has a shot to win a second ring with the Pacers. — James Boyd, Indianapolis writer

(Top photo of Pascal Siakam: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)

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