Bill Simmons issues warning for Pacers-Knicks Game 6 bettors
Bill Simmons issues warning for Pacers-Knicks Game 6 bettors
Longtime followers of Bill Simmons are well aware The Ringer founder loves a good sports conspiracy theory. That doesn't mean he fully believes all of them, but he's rarely ready to write most off without hearing them out.
So take Simmons' most recent comments with a grain of salt. On his latest podcast, Simmons felt the NBA could work some magic in favor of the New York Knicks in Game 6 to avoid (or delay) an Indiana-Oklahoma City matchup in the Finals.
"Let's be careful out there for Game 6 if you're wagering," Simmons said. "The 2002 Game 6 we've talked a lot about it over the years. I'm just saying, it's in the back of my head."
Simmons was referring to the infamous Game 6 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, when numerous late calls benefited the Lakers in a game referred by disgraced official Tim Donaghy.
Instead of a 2002 NBA Finals between the smaller-market Kings and New Jersey Nets, the Lakers ultimately swept the Eastern Conference champions.
The Pacers still hold a 3-2 series lead as the series shifts back to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday night. Indiana is a 3.5-point favorite at home and -175 on the moneyline.
But, staying away from this game is always an option. And to be honest, it's not a bad one if Simmons is onto something. This has a bad beat written all over it.
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New York Times
21 minutes ago
- New York Times
Thomas Bryant emerges as unlikely hero to help Pacers into NBA Finals
INDIANAPOLIS – Myles Turner was on the mic, speaking to a euphoric crowd that if it were allowed, would've stayed there all night. The Pacers had just knocked off the New York Knicks, 125-108, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to advance to the NBA finals for the first time in 25 years. And Turner, the longest-tenured Pacer, was spilling his heart to the city. Advertisement He spoke about embracing adversity, being the underdog and fighting for respect. 'People don't watch us,' Turner said on Saturday. All the while, his teammate, Thomas Bryant, could barely watch him. The Pacers backup center, donning an Eastern Conference champ T-shirt and hat, was doubled over on the scorer's table at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as Turner gave his speech. Tears ran down Bryant's face while he pounded his fist on the table in celebration, but his personal precipitation wasn't just birthed from joy. Those tears? They came from pain and pride. Trials and triumphs. Doubt and deliverance. 'There's a lot of times when you have to believe when nobody else even believes,' Bryant said in the locker room afterward. 'Even sometimes you have to believe it when you don't even believe it. You have to make yourself believe it and just stay the course. 'There were times I never thought I'd see the court again.' Nearly six months ago, Bryant was an afterthought, receiving 13 DNPs on a middling Miami Heat team. But in light of Indiana's backup centers, James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson, both tearing their Achilles early in the season, Indiana acquired Bryant in December for a 2031 second-round pick swap. The hope was for Bryant to bolster the Pacers frontcourt and keep the team humming whenever its starting center, Turner, needed a breather. On Saturday night, however, Bryant was an unlikely hero, totaling a playoff career-high 11 points, three rebounds and one block in in 13 high-energy minutes to help the Pacers return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. 'It's a lot of emotions, man, just going through the past year of just the ups and downs of the NBA,' Bryant said, choking up again. 'Playing, not playing, being totally out of the lineup, getting spare minutes here and there. And then, getting traded and not really knowing what the future might hold, but you just know you wanted to come contribute to a team and try to help them win in any way possible.' Advertisement Bryant got the biggest opportunity of his career to do just that in Game 6, and he delivered in catalytic fashion. After Turner picked up his fourth foul at the 10:14 mark of the third quarter, Indiana coach Rick Carlisle was forced to rely on his bench and his only other healthy center: Bryant. Four seconds after subbing in for Turner, Bryant blocked a layup attempt by Knicks forward OG Anunoby, which sparked a fast break. On the other end, Pascal Siakam, who scored a game-high 31 points, converted an and-1 layup while falling to the floor. Bryant was the first player to help him up, but before eagerly pulling Siakam to his feet, Bryant screamed and flexed in his face to celebrate the acrobatic finish. 'You don't gotta worry about T.B.; T.B. is always gonna bring that energy,' said teammate Aaron Nesmith, who was trailing the play. 'I've never met somebody whether it be up, down, rainy, sunny – he's always bringing that energy and that's a skill. That's a skill for real.' Bryant continued making timely plays by drilling a corner 3 with about eight minutes left in the third quarter, his second of the night, to push Indiana's lead up to 11 points. He high-fived a few courtside fans as he ran back on defense and repeated the celebration a few plays later when he drilled his third corner 3-pointer that put Indiana ahead by 15 points. This time, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau called a timeout for his team to regroup, and Bryant probably needed the stoppage, as well. As the 6-foot-10 center ran back to the huddle, he jumped to chest bump teammate Quenton Jackson and roared to the crowd while his emotions bubbled over. Pacers assistant Lloyd Pierce pulled Bryant aside, reminding him that he should view his energy like money and he can't spend it all in one place. Bryant heeded Pierce's advice, though it was not an easy request after seeing his role change drastically through the series. The 27-year-old began the Eastern Conference finals as the backup center, but poor showings in Games 1 and 2 led to him being benched in Games 3 and 4 in favor of Tony Bradley, who initially joined the Pacers on a 10-day contract in March. It wasn't until Bradley strained his hip in Game 5 that Bryant regained his spot in the rotation and gave the Pacers a jolt in Game 6. Siakam called Bryant's resurgent performance a reward from 'the basketball Gods;' Carlisle credited Bryant's 'indomitable spirit;' and Turner simply thanked his teammate for his professionalism. Advertisement 'Man, I've been playing against Thomas since high school,' Turner said. 'He's always had that enthusiasm, that energy and that skill. … And he didn't complain. He didn't pout. If you watch any film, bro, he's the first one up on the bench (cheering), first one gassing us up, talking to us and getting us right. Me going down in foul trouble, he got his opportunity (Saturday) and he didn't look back.' Bryant, a New York native and former Indiana University star, acknowledged that it was serendipitous to send the Knicks home with a notable performance off the bench as a Pacer. He never dreamed of that moment because, candidly, there were days even recently when he prayed for 'just one minute' to prove himself. Bryant validated his worth Saturday, and he's hungry to solidify it even more against Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals. He's been on this stage before, winning a championship with the Nuggets in 2022-23, but Bryant played just 29 seconds during that 20-game playoff run and only appeared at the very end of Game 3 of the finals. He hopes to play a lot more in his second go round, though he vowed to be prepared regardless. 'A lot of people – when things go left or they don't get their way or they don't get the playing time they want – they say they got 'screwed over,'' Bryant said. 'But that's not always true. You still gotta stay resilient through it. I hope that people realize that I stayed resilient, and because of that I was able to contribute and accomplish things that other people never thought I'd do.'
USA Today
32 minutes ago
- USA Today
'It'll be good for us': Chiefs using Super Bowl 59 defeat as fuel
'It'll be good for us': Chiefs using Super Bowl 59 defeat as fuel Show Caption Hide Caption NFL keeps 'Tush Push' in play The NFL won't ban the 'Tush Push', keeping the Eagles' high-success play in the game—for now. Super Bowl 59 was a bit of an anomaly for some of the Kansas City Chiefs' younger players. The blowout loss was the first time the Chiefs 2022 draft class − players such as Trent McDuffie, George Karlaftis and Isiah Pacheco − had ended the season in a defeat. 'It definitely serves as motivation going into the season. You never want to end the season like that,' Karlaftis said to reporters at OTAs this week. 'It's gonna be motivation for this year for sure.' Winning has become part of the norm during the Patrick Mahomes era in Kansas City. The franchise has won seven straight AFC West titles and three Super Bowl titles since Mahomes officially became the starter in 2018. (Last year was also the ninth consecutive division title captured by the team.) The franchise was a win away from an historic three-peat before it all came crashing down in New Orleans on Feb. 9. As the Chiefs take part in OTAs this offseason, they are using Super Bowl 59 loss as fuel. 'When you lose a Super Bowl, I think there's sometimes in those workouts, you may be a little tired, you have that extra added motivation to finish even harder, finish even stronger. I think it'll be good for us at the end of the day,' Mahomes explained. 'I mean, obviously looking back, you want to win the game. But a lot these guys hadn't lost one (Super Bowl), hadn't ended the season on a loss that are on this team now. So, I'm sure they'll be motivated to go back out there and try to find a way to get to the Super Bowl and win it this year.' Kansas City's offensive woes were a big reason why they were denied a third-straight Super Bowl title. Mahomes was sacked a career-high 36 times (including a single-game most six times in the Super Bowl), he averaged a career-low 245 passing yards per game and his 26 touchdowns passes equaled a career-low since he became the team's starter. But like any good franchise, the Chiefs responded accordingly. The Chiefs revamped their offensive line by signing tackle Jaylon Moore in free agency, they moved Kingsley Suamataia inside to left guard and drafted tackle Josh Simmons in the first round. Simmons, who suffered a knee injury during his final season at Ohio State, is ahead of schedule in his rehab and is expected to be ready by training camp. The Ohio State product didn't allow a sack before he went down and has impressed thus far in Kansas City. 'He's actually further ahead than I thought he was,' Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week of Simmons. 'He's done a good job with what we've seen. We just got to get him in with the defense against him.' On the outside, wide receiver should get a major boast by Rashee Rice's return to health. When Rice was injured in Week 4, he entered the week as the NFL's leader in catches and was second in yards. Rice worked out with Mahomes before OTA's kicked off and is back to looking like a No. 1 wide receiver. 'He looks like Rashee (Rice). Obviously having the injury, it sucked," Mahomes said of Rice. "Happening so early in the season, he was back like right when the offseason started and so he was up here working hard – extremely hard and he was back home working extremely hard. I was throwing with him in Dallas a little bit and then getting him back out here, there's no limitations. He's out there playing, he's making plays on the football field, he's explosive, he looks fast. "I think he can be one of the best receivers in the league. Just to have him, to add with Xavier (Worthy) and Hollywood (Brown) and all these other guys that we have, it's another position I think (general manager Brett) Veach has done a great job of bringing in competition so that we can go out there and make a lot of plays happen.' The Chiefs want to make more big pays happen through the air this season. Mahomes told reporters Reid's advised him to push the ball downfield more this season after averaging a career-low 6.8 yards per pass attempt last year. Rice's return to action, alongside of speedsters Worthy and Brown should help the Chiefs become more explosive on offense. 'We're fast. I think that's probably the thing that stands out the most,' Mahomes said. 'Our job is to test the defenses down the field, and we have to get back to doing that if we want to open up other guys underneath. I think coach Reid has challenged me this offseason to push the ball down the field, let guys have chances to make plays and then once we get that back to where we want to in our standard that we believe we should have, then we can come back to the underneath stuff.' The Chiefs' leaky O-line and stagnant passing attack are the preeminent reasons why they lost Super Bowl 59. The team's making it known they are motivated to fix the areas this offseason. Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
Washington Post
34 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Thrilling Pacers run Knicks ragged, reach first NBA Finals in 25 years
INDIANAPOLIS — James Johnson, the Indiana Pacers' beloved enforcer, pulled his white pickup truck onto Delaware Street around midnight and waved out his window to acknowledge the jubilant swarms of gold-clad fans that lined the downtown sidewalks. Up the road, loud music boomed and horns honked through gridlock traffic, and the watering hole crowds overflowed onto packed sidewalks. A small pack of dejected New York Knicks fans found itself on the wrong end of good-natured heckling: 'Hicks in six!' This Midwestern ecstasy was 25 years in the making. The Pacers pulled away from the Knicks with a hot-shooting third quarter and rode a splendid effort from star forward Pascal Siakam to claim a 125-108 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. Indiana, which entered the playoffs as the East's No. 4 seed, tore through the conference bracket with a 12-4 record just one year after being swept out of the East finals by the Boston Celtics. 'When it happened 25 years ago, I wasn't even 6 months old,' Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. 'I think this is a really special time for our organization and our fans. It's a special feeling to do it with this group. We got to the same spot last year and fell short. We worked our tails off to get back here. This is going to be something I remember for the rest of my life.' While the Oklahoma City Thunder will be heavily favored in the Finals, which begin Thursday, the Pacers are charmed underdogs who rebounded from an injury-riddled start to the regular season and executed three incredible late-game comebacks in the postseason. Indiana kept its poise throughout the tense, series-clinching win over New York, in which neither team led by more than six points in the first half. Siakam proved to be the difference-maker, earning Eastern Conference finals MVP honors after finishing with a game-high 31 points to go with five rebounds and three assists. The three-time all-star forward, who won a championship with the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors before being dealt to the Pacers in January 2024, made a three-pointer to open the second-half scoring. The Pacers never looked back, hitting seven three-pointers in the period to open a double-digit lead they never relinquished. 'I was super excited about coming [to Indiana in the trade] because of the pace,' Siakam said. 'It fits who I am as a person and the way I play. We have a lot of underdogs. That's my style. I like that. That's been me my whole life. We're resilient. We won't stop. Even after bad games, we're still going to be here, waking up with our head up and going to work. That's what you want from a team.' Haliburton's savvy playmaking and guard Andrew Nembhard's fierce defense on Knicks star Jalen Brunson helped Indiana stave off several rally attempts down the stretch. Haliburton didn't score in the first quarter, but he found his groove as the game unfolded to post 21 points, 13 assists and six rebounds. In the fourth quarter, he hit a pair of runners in the lane to keep the Knicks at bay. The hard-nosed Nembhard, who was an unheralded second-round pick in 2022, tallied 14 points, eight assists and six steals. The Knicks faced an uphill battle in the series after blowing a 14-point lead in the final three minutes of Game 1, and they sputtered to the finish line following a valiant Game 5 win at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. New York was undone by its 18 turnovers — which Indiana converted into 34 points — and its shaky transition defense. Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Game 6, while Brunson managed 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting. 'It hurts to not be able to bring an opportunity for a championship to the city,' Towns said. 'The plan now is to put ourselves in this position again and succeed next time.' The Pacers, who have been the East's fastest team in the playoffs, ran the Knicks off the court in the second half of the series clincher. Siakam leaked out into the open court for backbreaking buckets, and Haliburton provided the exclamation point by setting up Obi Toppin for a lob dunk with less than three minutes to play. 'Imagine you normally set the treadmill to seven miles an hour,' said a rival assistant coach, whose team was eliminated from the playoffs by Indiana. 'Playing the Pacers is like trying to run at nine miles an hour.' The home crowd roared its approval throughout Game 6, with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark leading the cheers from a courtside seat. After the final buzzer, Haliburton waved for his father, John, to join the festivities. John Haliburton, who was briefly banished from attending Pacers games for taunting Giannis Antetokounmpo following Indiana's first-round series victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, made his way to the court like a conquering hero, accepting handshakes and hugs from fans along the way. Tyrese Haliburton, who was acquired from the Sacramento Kings in a February 2022 trade, basked in the excitement and posed for photographs with rapper Rob 49, who name-checked the Pacers star in his song 'What the Helly.' As Pacers legends Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose were mobbed by selfie seekers, 10-year veteran center Myles Turner drew a loud ovation when he noted during a postgame interview that he had spent 'one-third of my life' in the Hoosier State. 'Nothing but joy,' Turner said. 'Pure excitement and validation. The emotions at this time of year are underrated. You don't sleep. You lose hair. You can't explain that if you've never been here before.' Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle brought the house down by uttering a popular local motto to cap the postgame trophy presentation: 'In 49 states, it's just basketball. But this is Indiana.' Across many of those other 49 states, there will probably be some hand-wringing about a Finals matchup that defies the NBA's norm. The small-market Thunder and Pacers both hail from flyover country, and they are hardly traditional powers. The Thunder franchise hasn't won a championship since 1979 when it was still known as the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Pacers haven't won since joining the NBA from the rival American Basketball Association in 1976. Both teams were distant afterthoughts as recently as the 2021-22 season, when the Thunder won 24 games and the Pacers won 25. Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the newly crowned MVP, and Haliburton, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time all-star, have since emerged as exquisite playmakers, but they're not nearly as famous as old guard icons LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Top-heavy super teams tend to attract casual fans, but Oklahoma City and Indiana win with deep casts of hardworking role players who are more appealing to purists. Even so, the Thunder and Pacers were clearly the most deserving representatives from their respective conferences. Oklahoma City went 12-4 through the West bracket, sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, surviving seven games with Nikola Jokic and the 2023 champion Denver Nuggets in the second round, and then making light work of Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals. Indiana dispatched Antetokounmpo's Bucks as an appetizer and stunned the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round before outlasting the Knicks. Now, one of these two party-crashers — the Thunder or the Pacers — is set to become the NBA's seventh different champion in the past seven seasons. 'This is no time to be popping champagne,' Carlisle said, while the celebrations outside the arena were still just getting started. 'We understand the magnitude of the opponent. Oklahoma City has been dominant all season long, with capital letters in the word DOMINANT. Defensively, they're historically great. I think it has the makings of a great series.'
