FINAL: Pacers return to NBA Finals!
Indiana advances to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, beating New York 125-108 in Game 6 Imagn Images
The Indiana Pacers, led by 31 points from Pascal Siakam, beat the New York Knicks in Game 6 to close out the Eastern Conference finals at home and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
The Knicks kept the game close until the third quarter, when the Pacers' pressure on both ends began to swing the game. Indiana forced 18 New York turnovers, resulting in 34 points, and scored 25 points in transition.
Tyrese Haliburton was quiet until the fourth quarter but scored 11 points late, finishing with 21 points and 14 assists.
Indiana's role players stepped up as well. Thomas Bryant scored 11 points on 3-5 shooting, including 2-2 from 3, in 12 minutes while Obi Toppin scored 18 points off the bench, shooting 7-11 from the field.
The Pacers did an excellent job on Jalen Brunson, holding him to 19 points on 8-18 shooting with five turnovers. Karl-Anthony Towns, battling through a knee injury, finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds. OG Anunoby helped New York hang around, scoring 24 points on 10-18 shooting.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is set for Thursday, June 5th at 8:30 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City.
GO FURTHER
Pacers head to NBA Finals for first time since 2000, besting Knicks in Game 6
GO FURTHER
2025 NBA Finals preview: Thunder-Pacers key matchups, X-factors and more Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Getty Images
FINAL - Pacers 125, Knicks 108
For the first time since 2000, the Pacers are back in the NBA Finals!
They'll face the Oklahoma City Thunder as each franchise looks for its first NBA championship*
Game 1 is Thursday, and we'll have you covered fully until then with all the biggest storylines from the series here at The Athletic .
(*The then-Seattle SuperSonics won in 1979, which is not acknowledged by the Thunder.)
Q4 0:47 - Pacers 125, Knicks 105
Now Rick Carlisle removes his starters to a standing ovation from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Getty Images
Q4 0:47 - Pacers 125, Knicks 105
One last great Kevin Harlan call on TNT after that Tyrese Haliburton 3: "OHHHH! Haliburton has gone mad!" Getty Images
Q4 1:22 - Pacers 122, Knicks 102
I'm just gonna put this out there now while I still can: Pascal Siakam should win Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Getty Images
Knicks watching that block by Obi Toppin on OG Anunoby like, "what the heck? you never did that with us" Getty Images
Q4 1:52 - Pacers 119, Knicks 99
Tom Thibodeau removes his starters.
This game, and this series, is about to be over.
Q4 3:40 - Pacers 115, Knicks 97
Obi Toppin thunders down the lane for a dunk against his former team. Tyrese Haliburton is up to 13 assists. Gainbridge Fieldhouse is rocking. The Indiana Pacers are on the verge of the NBA Finals.
Andrew Nembhard putting up an all-time playoff line, especially given the assignment on Jalen Brunson: 14 points, 8 assists, ZERO turnovers, six steals, and has made 6-of-12 field goals and 2-of-5 3s.
He played (Nemb)hard until the jumper came around. And play he did! With 4:20 left to play, Indiana has outscored the Knicks by 24 points in Nembhard's 34 minutes. Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn
Night, night. Knicks gave up on defense once Pascal Siakam got the offensive rebound, easy swing-swing for the dagger Andrew Nembhard 3. Jalen Brunson has only played 32 minutes and yet somehow looks totally gassed. Gregory Shamus / Getty Images
Microcosm of the series right there. Pascal Siakam outhustles the tired Knicks for a loose ball, and New York gives up on the play while allowing Andrew Nembhard to stand alone all day for a wide-open 3. Getty Images
Q4 4:20 - Pacers 113, Knicks 94
Tyrese Haliburton is cooking the Knicks with his floater. It's a 16-point Pacers lead — and then Andrew Nembhard hits a 3!
That may as well have been the dagger. Barring a Knicks miracle that tops what Indiana did to them in Game 1, the Pacers are heading to the NBA Finals. Getty Images
And now Mitchell Robinson comes in for Karl-Anthony Towns. I have a feeling we just saw Towns' last minutes of this season. Getty Images
TNT keeps criticizing Karl-Anthony Towns for being too far back on the pick-and-roll but he'd be getting fried no matter what coverage he was in. Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn
Tyrese Haliburton is eating up Karl-Anthony Towns pick-and-roll coverage and taking the Knicks to float school.
Karl-Anthony Towns is not moving well. He barely made it back down the floor on Miles McBride's layup, then didn't get back when Obi Toppin surged to the hole on the ensuing fast break.
Nine steals from the Pacers backcourt. Andrew Nembhard can't find his jumper but he's painting his Mona Lisa defensively. Ron Hoskins / NBAE via Getty Images
Q4 6:38 - Pacers 104, Knicks 88
The Knicks are not winning these crucial minutes. Instead, Andrew Nembhard is absolutely locking up Jalen Brunson.
The Pacers have their biggest lead of the game and are on the verge of going to the NBA Finals!
Big stretch coming up for Indiana with Pascal Siakam going to the bench and Aaron Nesmith picking up his fifth foul. This is when the Knicks need to strike.
Aaron Nesmith just came up limping after fouling Karl-Anthony Towns. He subbed out and was rubbing his left knee on the bench.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Time for a change as coach Thibodeau told to Knick off
Tom Thibodeau just took the New York Knicks to the NBA's Eastern Conference finals, the deepest play-off march in 25 years for a franchise that re-emerged as a contender after he became their coach. For that, he was fired. The Knicks made what they called a "difficult decision" to move on from Thibodeau on Tuesday, believing it was a necessary step in their chase for a championship. "We can't thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach. He led us not only with class and professionalism for the past five seasons, but also to tremendous success on the court with four play-off berths and four play-off series victories," team president Leon Rose said in a statement. Thank you, Coach Thibodeau. — NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 3, 2025 "Ultimately we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be a part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best." The Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in Game 6 on Saturday night, falling two games short of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. Axing the coach is a strange decision by the Knicks, who had been one of the league's worst franchises for most of the 2000s until Thibodeau was hired in 2020. He led the Knicks to the play-offs in his first season, winning his second NBA Coach of the Year award, and they have been solid contenders in recent seasons. They gave Thibodeau a three-year contract extension last summer. Their big breakthrough came in 2024-25, when they knocked off defending champions Boston in the second round to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000, when Thibodeau was an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy. Thibodeau faced criticisms that his hard-driving style and over-reliance on his starters wore down his players, the same ones who have followed him since the beginning of his head coaching career in Chicago. But his ways seemed to be working in New York. The Knicks hadn't won a play-off series since 2013, but now have done it in three straight seasons. They went 50-32 in 2023-24 and followed that with a 51-31 record this season. Thibodeau grew up as a Knicks fan in Connecticut, before joining the organisation as an assistant coach in 1996. He went on to help the Boston Celtics win the 2008 NBA title as an assistant, earning a reputation as one of the league's top defensive minds, before finally getting a chance as a head coach with the Bulls in 2010-11. He went 62-20 in his first season, earning his first Coach of the Year award. Thibodeau, who spent five seasons with the Bulls and also coached Minnesota, is 578-420 as a head coach.
Fox News
11 minutes ago
- Fox News
Fox News beats ABC, NBC, CBS during weekday primetime while CNN has lowest-rated week of year
Fox News Channel beat all broadcast networks in a key metric last week as CNN had its lowest-rated week of the year. Fox News averaged 2.7 million viewers during primetime on weekdays from May 26-30, compared to 2.4 million for NBC, 2.4 million for CBS and 2.3 million for ABC. While Fox News prevailed against the trio of broadcast networks, it also obliterated CNN. Fox News averaged 1.5 million total day viewers from May 26 through June 1, compared to a dismal 308,000 for CNN. During primetime, Fox News averaged 2.3 million viewers while CNN settled for only 374,000. It was much of the same among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, as Fox News delivered 175,000 total day demo viewers and 240,000 during primetime, compared to 49,000 total day and 61,000 primetime demo viewers for CNN. CNN finished with its worst week of the year across both primetime and total day as Fox News had its highest cable news share since inauguration week. Along the way, the top 100 cable news telecasts for the week all aired on Fox News. "The Five" averaged 3.7 million total viewers and 409,000 in the critical demo to lead cable news in both categories. "Special Report with Bret Baier," "The Ingraham Angle," "Jesse Watters Primetime," "Hannity," "FOX News @ Night," "Gutfeld!," "Outnumbered," "The Will Cain Show," "America's Newsroom," "America Reports" and Harris Faulkner's "The Faulkner Focus" all had strong weeks, too, to help Fox News crush CNN. Ratings data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.
CBS News
12 minutes ago
- CBS News
Allina Health doctors, PAs hold first-ever union picket, ask for better work-life balance in new contract
Six hundred Allina doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners who work in primary care are asking for a new contract with more work-life balance. They gathered in the pouring rain Tuesday morning for a first-of-its-kind protest. "We are here together as a result of many years of fighting, fighting for primary care and fighting to make things better," workers chanted. While nurses have walked the picket line for years, these picketers are doctors, PA's and nurse practitioners who are admittedly higher compensated. "We all get paid really well, its not about that. It's about having better support for our patients and support in our community and that we want a fair treatment in our contract and protections for everybody," said Dr. Chris Filetti, a pediatrician with Allina Health. WCCO The workers are asking for paid sick leave, instead of having to use vacation time. They're also asking for four hours a week to finish paperwork, instead of doing it in their off time. Additionally, they're asking for more medical assistants and nurses for support. "As a provider I hear story after story about providers who have to cut back from practice because of poor work-life balance," said Filetti. Allina's leaders say they are listening despite the unsettled contract, telling WCCO in a statement: "We continue to negotiate in good faith to reach responsible agreements that maintain competitive pay and benefits for our providers while ensuring that we can sustain our caring mission during these extremely uncertain economic times. It is important to get it right. We remain committed to reaching fair agreements that ensure we can maintain access to the high-quality care people depend on."
