Indiana Pacers Close In on First Finals Since 2000
For the first time since 2000, the Indiana Pacers could be heading to the NBA Finals after taking a 3–1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals series over the New York Knicks with a 130–121 win in Game 4.
Indiana put themselves one win away from the Finals thanks to their star Tyrese Haliburton, who recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 15 assists, and 12 rebounds in a flawless performance in front of his home crowd—remarkably, without a single turnover, a feat never achieved before.
Haliburton became only the third player in NBA playoff history to tally 30+ points, 15+ assists, and 10+ rebounds in a game, joining the legendary Oscar Robertson and current Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić.
Haliburton made 11 of his 23 shot attempts, including 5 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Cameroonian forward Pascal Siakam also contributed significantly to the win with 30 points, while Obi Toppin played a key role by sinking a three-pointer in the final 46 seconds to deliver the knockout blow to the visitors.
The Pacers ended the first quarter leading 43–35, then closed the first half with a 6-point run to head into the break up 69–64.
They picked up right where they left off, opening the second half with a 9–2 run and finishing the third quarter with a 102–91 lead. They maintained their advantage in the fourth quarter, starting it with a 9–3 burst—five of those points coming from Siakam—to go up 111–96.
The Knicks cut the deficit to six points three times late in the game, but the Pacers managed to hold firm and come out victorious, despite strong efforts from Jalen Brunson (31 points), Dominican-American Karl-Anthony Towns (24 points and 12 rebounds), and British forward OG Anunoby (22 points).
The series now heads back to New York, where the Pacers won the first two games before dropping Game 3 at home.
If they manage to secure a third win at Madison Square Garden, the Pacers will punch their ticket to the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history—the first being in 2000, when they lost the championship series to the Los Angeles Lakers, having defeated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals (4–2).
The matchup marks a revival of the 1990s rivalry between the two teams, and it is their first Eastern Conference Finals showdown since 2000. That year, the Pacers avenged their loss to the Knicks the previous season (2–4), a series that saw New York take a 2–1 lead after winning Game 3 in the final five seconds, 92–91, thanks to a three-pointer and a free throw from Larry Johnson.
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