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

New York Times

a day ago

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.
Advertisement
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.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 31 points to go with 5 boards, while Tyrese Haliburton turned in a brilliant double-double with 21 points and 13 assists – 11 of those points in the fourth quarter.
Aaron 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.
This is the Pacers' first trip to the finals since 2000. They made it to the conference finals last year by beating the Knicks in a Game 7, only to be swept by the eventual-champion 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 these 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.
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.
Advertisement
Perhaps the big surprise of Game 6 (other than Jenner seated along the baseline, of course) 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 years ago that made him the NBA 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 tied in Indiana's favor.
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. — Joe Vardon, NBA senior writer
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?
Advertisement
Indiana's relentless pressure took some of the energy out of Brunson, making him less effective later in possessions. ‒ Josh Robbins, NBA senior writer
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
(Photo of Pascal Siakam:)