More on Halliburton's historic Game 4
Follow live coverage of tonight's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals as the Indiana Pacers look to win the series over the New York Knicks and advance to the NBA Finals Getty Images Getty Images
Games of 30+ points, 15+ assists, ZERO turnovers in the NBA regular season and postseason... Tyrese Haliburton: 3 (including tonight, first ever in NBA postseason history)
3 (including tonight, first ever in NBA postseason history) Everyone else since 2020: 2 (James Harden, Nikola Jokić)
2 (James Harden, Nikola Jokić) Everyone before Tyrese Haliburton: 3 (LeBron James, Chris Paul, John Stockton)
This time of year, everybody's got something.
Busted fingers, balky backs, banged-up elbows. It's the cost of admission to May and June basketball, which is the only basketball that should matter. I get that 'Ringz Culture' is derided in our more advanced age of thinking. But we do this every year to find out who the best team is. It's not volunteer/charity hoops. If you're not hurting after damn near 100 games, including the regular season and playoffs, you probably don't deserve to be playing for a championship.
That's why no one here was all that surprised when Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith strapped up his sprained ankle and suited up for Game 4 against the New York Knicks.
Not just because the 25-year-old Nesmith is a tough cuss. Not just because physical therapy for injuries has never been more detailed or administered by more people on a team's medical and therapy staff than ever. But because the playoffs require you, if you're not dead or you don't have a shredded ligament in your lower extremities, to give it a go. You won't always win, and you won't always play well. But you have to play.
Read more on Nesmith and the Pacers below.
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In NBA playoffs, playing injured is the expectation. Aaron Nesmith has met the moment Getty Images
A few key statistical categories were telling of Game 4's outcome. Indiana outscored the Knicks on the fast break (22-9), in bench scoring (36-21), and points off turnovers (20-9).
New York also had 17 turnovers compared to just 11 for Indiana and the Pacers had 29 assists compared to the Knicks 17.
The Knicks will need to clean up these areas tonight if they hope to extend their season. Getty Images
Jalen Brunson got off to a hot start for the Knicks, scoring 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half of Game 4. From that point on, he attempted just 10 more shots, finishing with 31 points on 9-of-19 shooting.
In the fourth quarter, Brunson uncharacteristically attempted just three shots and his lone make came in the final moments when this game was already decided.
Brunson's counting stats at the end of this series will likely look gaudy but it's fair to say this has not been his best series, especially considering the way Indiana has relentlessly attacked him on defense. Getty Images
It might have been overshadowed, and rightfully so, by Tyrese Haliburton's spectacular 32-point triple-double.
But Pascal Siakam also torched the Knicks once again in Game 4, to the tune of 30 points including an efficient 3-for-4 mark from 3-point range.
It's worth noting that this is the same Pascal Siakam who was a very effective No. 2 to Kawhi Leonard on the 2019 Raptors team that won the NBA Finals and that, by Draymond Green's own admission a few days ago, dominated a still-in-his-prime Green in that series.
Siakam is averaging 26.0 points per game in this series. Can he help the Pacers close out the Knicks tonight?
Tc T.: Pacers have an identity. Fast Pace, shoots the 3-ball well, kill you when you turn it over and they share the ball really well. Knicks have zero identity. Pray for some magic in the 4th quarter is all we do.
Nicolas L.: Haliburton had a great game, and deserves his credit, but Mathurin being able to score 20 points in just 12 minutes was huge in this game. I hope he's starting to figure playoff basketball because Indiana is going to need his scoring if (both Indy and OKC move on) they want to win the finals. OKC is one of the few teams that can match the Pacers depth so it's all hands on deck if Indiana wants to final win a NBA title.
Nick P.: I haven't heard anyone discuss that maybe there are offenses that can actually *take advantage* of playoff-level defense? Like, the Pacers (especially several of its players) have been largely playing BETTER in the postseason than the regular season the past couple years, and that gets kinda dismissed as 'luck' or they just happen to have some really gutsy guys ...... but what if there are very real reasons that's happening?
One of the rules of the playoffs is that systems-heavy-but-lesser-talented teams diminish heavily against the higher threshold of playoff-level defense. Well, what if you had a very strong system that had lots of talent and a playoff-level point guard to not only get around all those hyper-playoff-arms but take advantage of playoff-level aggression? Getty Images
Before Eastern Conference Finals:
Pacers had two games all year where they had 2 players drop 30+ points in the same game (one of them against the KNICKS in November)
Now, it's happened in two games of this Eastern Conference finals: Game 1: Haliburton/Nesmith
Haliburton/Nesmith Game 4: Haliburton/Siakam Getty Images
Towns went down after a left knee collision late in the fourth quarter. He has been struggling with pain in that knee the past few games and played through it for the final two minutes, though he was struggling. Even when standing on the sidelines at the end of this loss, he was hunched over in discomfort.
New York needs Towns to carry its offense when the Pacers take the paint away from Brunson, so the Knicks' best counterpunch might be limited for Game 5. Getty Images
Aaron Nesmith showed no signs of being injured in Game 4, some 48 hours after limping around the Pacers locker room after a right ankle sprain he sustained in the third quarter of Game 3. The 25-year-old, who was a game-time decision, drilled his first two 3-point attempts and threw down a fast-break tomahawk dunk in the first quarter that garnered a roar from the crowd. Nesmith finished with 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting in 32 minutes.
Mathurin gave Indiana a spark, too. The 2022 No. 6 pick struggled in this series, scoring 11 points combined through the first three games, but he came alive Tuesday to help Indiana push New York to the brink of elimination. Mathurin, who was sidelined last year during the playoffs because of a torn labrum, nailed a midrange jumper just four seconds after he entered the game in the first quarter and totaled 20 points off the bench in 12 minutes. Getty Images
The Knicks' season is now on the brink, but they've shown they're capable of winning any of these games. New York had some big defensive stretches and created good 3-point looks at times in the fourth quarter, but the Pacers defense effectively took Brunson out of crunchtime.
Brunson couldn't get into the paint once the Knicks clawed back into the game, and Haliburton never lost his pulse on the game. His triple-double was great, but the zero turnovers is the biggest feat. The Knicks' inability to force him into a bad pass has been confounding.
They need to win the transition battle to stay alive, and that won't happen if Haliburton is perfect.
The Pacers defense has been connected enough to take away New York's primary option in the fourth quarter, and that allows their offense to rely on transition buckets to keep things going when the Knicks get close. It's the reason they could be heading to the NBA Finals, as Haliburton is peaking at just the right time and the Knicks aren't getting nearly enough 3s to keep up with Indiana's stellar offense. Getty Images
The celebratory skip said it all.
After Haliburton pushed the ball in transition early in the first quarter, the Knicks blew their defensive rotations and somehow left the Pacers' star wide open on the right wing. His teammates on the bench eagerly raised their hands as Haliburton hoisted a 3-pointer. When the ball went through the hoop, Haliburton's body took over as he pranced down the court after giving Indiana a 16-9 lead. The Knicks called a timeout to try to stymie him, but it was to no avail.
That 3-pointer was Haliburton's first points of the game, yet it was as if he knew he was beginning to paint a masterpiece.
Voted the NBA's most overrated player in The Athletic's annual anonymous player poll released last month, Haliburton had arguably the best game of his career in Tuesday night's victory. The two-time All-Star was 3-for-3 on 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the first quarter — tying the most points he's ever scored in any quarter of a playoff game — and finished with his second playoff triple-double.
Haliburton's outing helped move the Pacers within one victory of their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000.
Robert B.: The Knicks might be 'one epic game one collapse from a 2-2 series, but they are also one epic game three collapse from being swept.
Tc T.: Critical condition. Gonna take a miracle. I'm very disappointed in Brunson. ZERO ability to facilitate at a HIGH LEVEL in this series. Some teams just have your number. At this point, Indiana is just better.
Mark T.: They just seem worn down physically, which is why the less utilized players are producing better net ratings. The Pacers play physical, as well as fast. It's a daunting challenge. Hopefully MSG will give them enough adrenaline to force Game 6.
Preston M.: The Knicks were built to beat the Celtics. Through a couple of unfortunate circumstances, (Tatum, Kristaps) they did. However, they don't matchup well with the younger, athletic, faster, Pacers. Pacers are just better and have a championship coach in Carlisle.
All postseason long, the New York Knicks have pulled a rabbit out of a hat. They've unveiled a card out of their sleeve. They've removed a coin from behind their opponent's ear.
New York's postseason run has been somewhat magical, erasing 20-point deficits multiple times, clawing back from down 14 time and time again, and hitting clutch shots from city to city.
If the Knicks want to keep their title dreams alive, though, they'll need their greatest magic trick yet. After losing to the Indiana Pacers 130-121 on Tuesday night, New York faces a 3-1 series deficit in the Eastern Conference finals.
No team has come back from a 3-1 hole in the Eastern Conference finals since 1981.
Read more on New York's final stand below.
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The Knicks' season is on life support. Do they have one more trick left? Getty Images
If the Pacers make the Finals, and they are favorites to do now that they have a 3-1 lead in this series, the Tyrese Haliburton trade truly goes down as one of the most consequential trades in recent NBA history.
Finals teams in the last 25 years that have acquired their best player by trade: 2002-03 Nets (Jason Kidd),
2008/10 Celtics (Kevin Garnett)
2019 Raptors (Kawhi Leonard)
These have also led to a title run: 2021 Suns (Chris Paul), 2015-18 Cavaliers (Kevin Love), and the 2004-05 Pistons (Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace).
No, we're not counting sign-and-trades.
Of course, we might soon add the Thunder (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) to this list, too. Getty Images
With 46.1 seconds to play in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin stepped back behind the 3-point line to receive a baseline out-of-bounds pass from Tyrese Haliburton. Without a New York Knicks player anywhere near him, Toppin hit Indiana's 13th 3-pointer, a dagger against his former team.
Behind a historic performance from Haliburton, who finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and zero turnovers, Indiana is one win away from its first NBA Finals since 2000. The Pacers took a 3-1 lead with the 130-121 win over the Knicks on Tuesday.
Read more on Indiana below.
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Pacers keep foot on gas, stay perfect in Game 4s as they push Knicks to brink
There is no better place to follow all your other favorite teams, leagues and players than on The Athletic.
We've got you covered on all things NBA , MLB, NHL and much, much more. And you're in luck — you can subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here. Getty Images
Are the Pacers going to advance to their second NBA Finals in franchise history? Do the Knicks have a chance to get back in this series?
We'd love to hear from you on tonight's crucial Game 5. Email us at live@theathletic.com or click the 'discuss' tab in the score section. We will choose the best contributions for the blog.
So get typing, basketball fans. Getty Images
Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals is available on TNT.
Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst), Stan Van Gundy (analyst) and Allie LaForce (sideline reporter) are on the call. Getty Images
Game 5 of the Knicks-Pacers series tips off at 8 p.m. ET. That's 5 p.m. PT or 1 a.m. in the U.K.
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