By Eric Nehm, Fred Katz and Hunter Patterson
The Indiana Pacers got off to a blistering start in Game 7, scoring 70 points on 76 percent shooting in the first half and never let up in route to a 130-109 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Pacers’ first-half field goal percentage was the best by any team in a half in the last 25 postseasons. Indiana’s win also brings it back to the conference finals for the first time since 2014.
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Tyrese Haliburton (26), Pascal Siakam (20) and Andrew Nembhard (20) combined for 66 of the Pacers’ 130.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson suffered a fractured left hand in the second half, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes of action before exiting to the locker room. New York battled through injuries throughout the postseason, but Brunson’s injury proved to be insurmountable.
Indiana will head to Boston for the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday.
130 points in Game 7. pic.twitter.com/JzALnRmt1E
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 19, 2024
Pacers 130, Knicks 109
Series: Indiana wins 4-3
Pacers meet the moment in Game 7
All postseason long, opponents have waited for the moment to be too big for the Pacers and every time they have faced another big moment, Indiana has answered the call and played its brand of basketball.
On Sunday, they entered Madison Square Garden for Game 7 and dropped a 39-point first quarter, the most of any team in the first quarter of a Game 7, with Haliburton doing his best impression of Pacers legend Reggie Miller, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes and talking trash to Knicks fans sitting courtside after each shot.
By the end of the first half, the Pacers had tallied 70 points and shot 76.3 percent from the field, as well as 66.6 percent from the 3-point line.
When New York quickly cut Indiana’s lead to single digits to open the third quarter, Haliburton was there for the answer.
First, he hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back out to double digits. Then he dished a tough pass to Myles Turner for a 3-pointer on the right wing and followed it up with a steal and a fastbreak lay-up to increase the Pacers lead to 12 points. After Haliburton answered the call, his teammates followed his lead.
Nembhard knocked down clutch buckets. Aaron Nesmith scored 11 third-quarter points. And T.J. McConnell brought his trademark energy to the proceedings to help the Pacers take a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, which the Knicks were forced to play without Brunson, who suffered a fractured left hand.
5 points in 5 seconds 😈
the no-look pass from Tyrese Haliburton.
the steal by T.J. McConnell.
the and-1 by Aaron Nesmith. pic.twitter.com/pTo70Zriw9— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 19, 2024
By the end of the fourth quarter of Game 7, the Knicks were too battered to field anything resembling their regular-season roster and the Pacers were running past them on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals. — Eric Nehm, senior NBA writer
Knicks fall short as injuries piled on
The Knicks ended their season with zero players from their opening-day lineup on the court.
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Quentin Grimes was in Detroit. RJ Barrett was in Toronto. His replacement, OG Anunoby was on the bench, nursing a hamstring injury. Mitchell Robinson was recovering from ankle surgery. Julius Randle sat in street clothes, as well, after undergoing surgery on his shoulder in the spring.
Brunson was in the locker room, getting treatment on a freshly fractured left hand, which he injured at some point during the second half of their season-ending loss.
The Knicks’ identity all season was steeped in their tryhard, the relentlessness anyone in Madison Square Garden could have recognized. The remaining crowd stood on its feet when the regulars checked out of the game.
Josh Hart received chants of his name and a standing ovation when he fouled out. Alec Burks, Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein inspired passionate cheers, too, which led into “Let’s go Knicks” hollers. Those in attendance understood reality.
Josh Hart gets a standing ovation after playing BIG minutes all postseason 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/ikS1EkPY1O
— NBA (@NBA) May 19, 2024
These were not the Knicks who lost. They were what was left of the Knicks. And the Pacers never let go. — Fred Katz, Knicks beat writer
Tuesday’s games
- Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics, 8 p.m. ET
Required reading
- NBA Playoffs Game 7s odds, expert picks for Knicks-Pacers and Nuggets-Timberwolves
- Minneapolis community looking to honor George Floyd hopes Wolves can lead off the court
- Can Nuggets’ experience lift them past Timberwolves in Game 7? ‘We’re going to be ready to go’
(Photo: Brad Penner / USA Today)
