INDIANAPOLIS — On Saturday night, the Indiana Pacers capitalized on another chance to oust the New York Knicks from the Eastern Conference finals in their own arena.
Indiana will make their the second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history and the first in 25 years.
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Ahead of Saturday’s games, the Pacers led the series 3-2 after losing Game 5 to the Knicks 111-94 on Thursday.
The Pacers will open the NBA Finals on Thursday at Oklahoma City.
Pacers standout Tyrese Haliburton boasted an 11-2 record in home playoff games throughout his career. His performance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse was remarkable, tallying 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, four steals, and zero turnovers on Tuesday.
The two-time All-Star etched his name in the record books as the first player to achieve at least 30 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds, and no turnovers in a playoff matchup since turnovers began being recorded in the 1977-78 season. Remarkably, he accomplished this feat in front of his father, John, who returned to the stands after an eight-game suspension following an altercation with Milwaukee’s star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, after his son’s game-winning layup knocked the Bucks out of their opening round series.
New York lost the first two games of this series at home but has rebounded to win two of the last three since inserting Mitchell Robinson into the starting lineup. Coach Tom Thibodeau expanded New York’s rotation and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns started driving to the basket more frequently.
Towns has averaged 24 points and 13.3 rebounds in the last three games while All-Star guard Jalen Brunson has averaged 28.7 points over that span. Brunson also has topped the 30-point mark in each of the last two to extend the Knicks’ postseason record for most 30-point games in franchise history with 21.
New York is trying to become the 14th team in league history to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win a series. It hasn’t reached the finals since 1999 and hasn’t won a title since 1973.
The road team won each of the first three games in this series while the home team has prevailed in each of the last two.
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