ORANI, Bataan — In an exhilarating Game 6 of the second-round series of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Indiana Pacers turned the tables against the second-seeded New York Knicks, 116–103. The Pacers tied the series at 3–3, held at Gainbridge FieldHouse, Indianapolis, May 18 (PHT).
Indiana protected the homecourt to even escape the brink of elimination—forced a decisive Game 7 against the Knicks. They managed to retain their perfect postseason home record intact at 6-0—the first team in the playoffs to do so.
In front of the raucous sellout crowd, the Pacers broke the Knicks’ hustle plays and their strength on the glass during Game 5, which led Indiana to a 30-point blowout loss.
Pascam Siakam notched 25 points, five assists, and seven rebounds for the Pacers’ victory. He grabbed 11 for 21 field goals and shot a 3-out-of-4 free throw attempt.
Siakam’s stellar performance led him to acquire his fifth game scoring as many as 25-points for the Pacers during these playoffs. He became the fifth player in the Pacers’ history to record four or more games with 25 points throughout the course of a playoff run.
Meanwhile, Myles Turner added 17 points and eight rebounds. Siakam and Turner’s combined 42 points and 15 rebounds sealed the victory for the team.
In Game 6, the Pacers earned a 47-35 rebounding edge and even had a close 14-13 advantage on the offensive end. They shot 49 for 91 field goals (53.8%), netted 9-out-of-26 three-pointers (34.6%), and accumulated 9-out-of-13 free throw attempts.
“I thought Game 5 was our least aggressive game in the playoffs,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said.
“We played hard tonight, which was a must. They came out really hard tonight, which was evident, but we moved the ball better, we got more rebounds and that’s obviously been a big part in this series.” he added
Moving to the losing side, Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 31 points in 38 minutes, including five assists. He shot 11 for 26 field goals and made his 6-out-of-9 free throw attempts.
Miles McBride scored 20 points and shot eight for 12 field goals, and Donte DiVincenzo deposited 17-points for the team and six for 14 field goals, added 37 points to the losing effort.
“We knew they were going to play hard coming off the last game, and that’s what it’s about,” Knicks’ coach Tom Thibodeau said.
“We’re just going to have to play a lot better.” he added.
The decisive Game 7 will take place on Sunday at Madison Square Garden—they will square off again in a win-or-go-home scenario.
